Paige and Ho-oh's Sacred Fire
by Fivedaysdark
Summary: Paige was an ordinary teenage girl, living with her family in Viridian City. Assisting her family in their delivery business, Paige gets entangled in a web of Pokemon legends and is forced to leave her home to assist a golden flame tailed Charmander in growth. During her travels she will meet new allies, fight with Pokemon poachers and attempt to discover her skills as a trainer.
1. Prologue: Ho-oh's Disappearance

The events of this Pokémon story began over 150 years ago in the city of Ecruteak.

Two nine-tier towers were built opposite of one another and were symbols to foster a friendship and hope between the human world and Pokémon. Looking out over the towers, people and Pokémon could see a breathtaking view together. The eastern tower was named the Bell Tower (or Tin Tower to some) and was said to have the power to awaken any Pokémon. The western tower was named the Brass Tower and would be a place where Pokémon could rest. The great phoenix Pokémon Ho-oh roosted at the top of Bell Tower where loyal sages protected the nest and played as ambassadors to the human world. This was considered a golden age for humans and Pokémon alike where both walked as equals and contraptions like pokeballs were not needed. With humans, Pokémon were able to reach their full potential while assisting the young species and guiding them to the advances they have to this day.

While the majority of interaction between human and Pokémon were positive, something stirred deep in human hearts. With the lust for power and control over nature, humans have corrupted the relationship some of them and Pokémon had and thus the two grew distain for each other secretly. Even with this hidden contempt, both hated nothing more than the close ties that had been cemented because of those towers. One day, a plan was hatched by a very dark hearted man and the people that followed him along with several corrupted Pokémon. Using the Pokémon's powers to create a large lightning storm as cover, the group of humans attacked the two towers with their Pokémon partners. For three full days, the towers were swallowed up in despair and war. Fire ignited the western tower and burned it until a sudden downpour extinguished the flames. The eastern tower was damaged heavily by the assault as human weapons and Pokémon attacks tore the building apart. Many lives, both people and Pokémon, were lost these days. Among the Pokémon that perished were 3 that took great stride in opening human hearts and defended the towers with their lives. Even when their human allies had fallen, they refused to leave their side even as the tower burned around them. Ho-oh, seeing their self-sacrifice, appeared from the skies and used its power to resurrect them. It was at this time that the dark hearted man struck and his allies assaulted Ho-oh.

Ho-oh was barraged with arrows, boulders and attacks from Pokémon who betrayed their own hearts and fell to the darkness. Ho-oh was weakened but the legendary bird could never truly die because of its nature. The dark hearted leader knew this and constructed a device that would allow him to capture and control such a power. The device resembled a sort of pokeball that is used today but was inlaid with obsidian glass and several rare gems to reflect Ho-oh's power. The ball was launched at the apex of battle but the man did not realize that Ho-oh's nature would not permit it to be caught by such a tainted human. With a final display of sacred fire, the phoenix cried out and exploded in a ball of heavenly flames as the shock waves rippled through the city. The device to catch Ho-oh was destroyed along with the man's black heart. The remaining citizens of the city repaired the eastern tower in hope that Ho-oh would return one day.

Without Ho-oh, the people of Johto recovered slowly but the memories of those days remained fresh in the mind of older Pokémon. Some sought to repair the bond that had been broken while others shunned human companionship and went into seclusion. On occasion, Pokémon and humans have reported seeing Ho-oh fly over the skies but any attempt of communication is met with no response. Some say the mighty bird has turned his back on both Pokémon and humans while others say it is only a manifestation of his power that lingers in this world today. Even a few doubts their eyes consider it the sun playing tricks.

In the present day, the bond that humans and Pokémon shared in the past is but a shadow of its former glory. While Pokémon still work, play and battle beside humans, darkness still resonates in a human's heart. There are still people out there who use Pokémon for evil acts and enslave them to benefit themselves. While the faces and names change, those who use Pokémon with kind hearts battle those with dark hearts and clash in battlefields remain constant. History will always repeat itself to those who do not learn from it.

There is always a glimmer of hope in each generation. Those humans with pure hearts rise above their station to become strong trainers. Some lose their way to darkness and never return, using their gifts for evil. Some will use their gift for good and assist their fellow trainers to strengthen the bonds that they and their Pokémon share. Finally there are a few rare individuals who are destined to meet and walk with legends. This story is about one of those individuals and the people that join her in an attempt to recover what was destroyed so long ago.


	2. Chapter 1: Fire Reborn

The sunlight crept up through the windowsill as Paige winced a bit from the reflection on her walls now filling up her room. Pulling the sheets up over her head she refused to let her dreams come to an end. Under the sheets, she was met with darkness as she hummed happily to herself and relaxed back into a curled up position on her side. The summer months had been long and hard at her family's business as a courier and right now she was content with staying wrapped up under her sheets. The soft droning sound of the air conditioning unit hanging above her bed numbed her of the world around as she began to doze back off with a smile on her face. Paige didn't hear her door creek open and her little brother's footsteps approach the side of her bed in time to react.

"Hey sissy!"

Paige pulled back the sheets from her head and sat up, ready to yell out in a scolding tone but was met with a jet of cold water hitting her face. The poliwag her little brother held in his arms continued spray Paige with water from its pursed lips as she flailed her arms up to defend against the assault.

"Lucas! St-stop! I'm gonna kill you", Paige managed to yell out in her sputtering as she threw her sheets back from the bed. Lucas laughed and turned tail, running with the Poliwag out of her room and down the hallway as he and the pokemon echoed out a chorus of laughter. Paige stumbled out of her bed and gave chase with her hand reaching out to grab a hold of a raised heel boot.

* * *

Lucas sat pouting at the table with a swollen knot on the top of his head. His eyes glared over at Paige who was happily eating a piece of sunshine toast as she watched the weather report for the morning. The summer weather had cooled down a bit but was still warm enough to enjoy the sun without getting blistered up. The household was busy as always; their mother running back and forth from office to garage while speaking on their phones about delivery concerns. The kitchen and living room was usually cluttered with several boxes and containers that had yet to be packed up from the night earlier. Still, their father's Machokes were making short work of moving them from the inside of the house out to the truck waiting outside. Their father was aiding in loading up and checking for final delivery cargo as Paige finished up her breakfast and dropped her plates into the sink.

"Finished! Heading out to see Kali down at the Trainer Club! Won't be back until tonight!" Paige was just about to make her escape out the sliding glass door when her mother poked her head out from down the hallway.

"Paige! Don't think you are getting away that easy. You still have deliveries from yesterday to complete! Get dressed and I will pack you a lunch. Now!" Paige felt her blood go cold and hung her head forward with a sigh of defeat as her brother snickered from the table. Paige turned around and muttered softly to herself as she climbed back up the steps into the hallways and turned to her room. In reality she didn't mind having to help the family business but a little bit of personal time to hang with her friends would have been nice. Kali had a few matches lined up today and Paige wanted to see her schoolmate in action. After that they had planned to go sunbathing near the river and enjoy the break in the summer heat but now it looked like she was stuck doing grunt work again.

Paige fumbled with her copper shaded phone, texting the bad news to Kali as she slipped on the brown courier vest over the baby blue plaid tank top she was already wearing. She soon realized that in all the rush from this morning, she had almost forgotten her waist cincher belt with her pokemon attached. Glancing over at the desk she smiled and recovered the belt, sliding it around her frame and taking a glance in the mirror while fastening it with a click. The girl staring back was dressed with current fashion trends in mind, save for her work vest. Her opaque black tights fitted well enough with her frilled shorts and the matching fedora hat made her rosy cheeks perk up in a smile. With her hair braided in such a way, her silver loop earrings could be easily seen pierced through her lobule. Confident in her look, Paige pulled forward on her brown braided pigtails and stuck out her tongue with a wink from a blue iris before turning away from her closet and heading out the door.

"Pidget!" Paige tossed the pokeball up into the air as she stood outside, the packages for the day secured to a small wagon attached to the back of her bicycle. The morning sun was still low enough for the temperature to be comfortable but it was still going to get temperate today. She had made sure to plan her route out accordingly, getting all of the packages in Viridian City done first so when the last few package to Pallet Town was dropped off she could spend some leisure time near the river that ran through the area. Maybe she would get some sunning in today after all!

With a flash of light, her Pidgey appeared in the sky with wings stretched out proudly, giving a few light calls out before landing on top of her owner's hat like she always did. Paige giggled happily, glancing up as Pidgey peered over the brim of the hat and cooed to her. If it wasn't for Pidgey's company, these types of days would be unbearable. While it was proposed a few years back that Paige should travel to Pallet Town and journey across Kanto as her rite of passage into adulthood, her family would not be able to survive the rush they get in the summer months if she had left. Truth be told, Paige disliked the idea of pokemon fighting one another. She never saw a purpose on risking pokemon getting injured, just to prove something about being a trainer. Some would call her soft hearted or even a coward and point out that pokemon evolve through battles but nothing seemed to sway her opinion. The Pidgey she had caught a few months back seemed to share in her opinion, having a sort of docile nature and preferring to doze off in her lap.

For the time being though, daylight was burning and the sooner she completed her deliveries, the sooner she could spend the rest of the day goofing off. Mounting the bicycle and fastening her clipboard to the front of the handlebars, Paige planted her laced up boots on the peddles and pushed forward with a light strain to get the day started. Paige was fully unaware that on this particular day, her life would take a twist and spiral out of control, forcing her on a grand adventure through the region of Kanto and beyond!

* * *

Huffing and puffing forward, Paige felt like she was on the tail end of a marathon. Bolting through Viridian City, Paige had made all of her deliveries ahead of schedule and without incident. Usually there would be some sort of traffic jam or error in the address but it seemed lady luck was on her side. Pidgey had even lifted some of the workload by flying a few of the smaller parcels up to opened windows. Pidgey had a habit of just tagging along for company and not really listening to requests but today she seemed to be eager to help.

Glancing down at her clipboard, the last 3 packages were addressed to Professor Oak in Pallet Town. The boxes most likely had some sort of lab equipment or important research in them. Paige had only met Professor Oak once, back when she was still a toddler and making runs with her father. Professor Oak claimed that she would make a good trainer one day. Paige smirked as she recalled his observation. Clearly the old man was wrong in that assumption. Looking down at the Pichu faced wristwatch she got on her last birthday, she would pick up the pace and begin to speed by onto the dirt roads through Route 1. The dust cloud that kicked up made her feel like she was a Ponyta dashing over the meadows in the Safari Zone. Paige imagined her ponytails being her mane of fire as the sunlight game her fiery body the energy to move forward. Her Pidgey was in the air above her and flew behind her in an attempt to keep up. The little bird would usually call out if it was being left behind but this time Paige could hear the audible chirps right above her in alert.

Looking back at what she was fussing about, Paige saw a black van riding up behind her and pulling alongside as they approached. It was a bit rude in her mind for vehicles to take these roads when bikers are much more frequent and easier on the environment around here. Still, the van pulled up beside her and maintained their speed for a few moments. Paige did her best to ignore the vehicle and its tinted windows but their presence was really getting on her nerves. The kicking up of dirt and rocks could be heard and felt while the van began to speed up and pass her. Just as they had overtaken her from the opposite side, the vehicle suddenly made a violent jerk sideways and cut the bicycle off. Paige's eyes widened as she was forced to swerve in avoidance with crashing into the back of the vehicle.

The bike dipped forward and down the hillside while Paige peddled quickly in an attempted to maintain control while her Pidgey above called out loudly and followed her descent. The river nearby behind the tree line could be heard clearly running fast today and that gave Paige only a few options. Pivoting the front wheel forward and tilting her body she would attempt to slide and straighten herself back out and stick beside the trees. Whatever luck had been on her side had ran out as her bike hit a large rock in the field and forced her corrections to go awry and steer her right into the tree line. Paige yelled out as she was caught in a torrent of lower branches swatting at her arms that she put up to defend herself. Her feet pushed backwards to cue the brakes to slow her down but not to lock up unless she wanted to go head on into a tree. She was aware though if she didn't stop, she would be taking a dip very soon.

The tires squealed against the brake as the chain on the wheels popped out of place from the rough action and sent any hope of controlling this ride down the drain. Paige felt her body go airborne for a brief moment before hitting a hard piece of stone in the side of her head with a heavy thud and tumbling down along until her body stopped rolling. Redness started to cloud her sight as the world around her spun, the pain in her skull made it impossible to stand back up. Pidgey could be heard above in the trees still, circling and calling out for its owner as Paige faded in consciousness.

* * *

The world around Paige slowly grew back into focus. First a set of muffled voices argued over her as her eyesight began to come back. Glancing upwards from her positioning, she soon realized she had been propped up against a tree trunk downstream. The taste of copper and cloth was strong in her mouth; a gag had been secured to prevent her from calling out with her wrists tied up in her lap and legs stretched out in front of her. She looked down at the steel hoop that had been pounded down into the soil that kept her ankles together and her legs from moving. Dread soon replaced pain as she looked around for any information she could get on the situation. The voices from before spoke out again, this time in clarity.

"We can't just lug her around forever. The kid is gonna have someone looking for her sooner or later and if she identify us we are done for", a soft female's voice stated.

"Calm down and think about this. The hill here is steep and the waters run deep. Who's to say the girl wasn't goofing off and fell into the water? We throw the bike and the other packages in and take what we need and no one will be the wiser. They are bound the dredge it sooner or later and find the remains of her cart. When that happens, they will assume she got swept downstream. Let's take her along with us for the time being until we can drop her off in another city closer to Saffron. By then, we will be long gone." The second male voice was gruff and stern, seeming to carry a lot of authority and sureness in his tone.

Paige was listening quietly at the voices from behind the van and didn't notice her Pidgey hopping up to her until it had jumped into her lap. Paige gave a muffled startle and looked down at the pokemon, tears welling up in her eyes as Pidgey began to peck at the binds on her wrists with little success. The two voices continued to discuss future plans while the Pidgey picked at the thick rope, only fraying a small section. At first Paige thought the stress of the situation was forcing her body to heat up as perspiration dripped from her brow but it suddenly became apparent that something was watching this attempt at escape. A foul odor snaked into her nostrils as she coughed into the rag while a low deep growl came emanating from behind the treetrunk.

_Hoooouuuuu!_

The Pidgey rose up its head too late. A large canine darted out from seemingly nowhere and snapped its jaws at Paige's lap. The Pidgey took off in flight a bit too late as the elongated snout of the black pokemon took hold of its right wing and held it firmly into its jaws. Pidgey cried out in pain, thrashing to free itself from the hound's grip but to no avail. Paige's eyes dropped a few tears as they were froze open, struggling against the binds that held her.

"Well it seems that bird was yours then huh?" Paige glanced up at the man now standing over her, his hand reaching down to pet the black horned pokemon. The man was dressed in heavy steel plated boots and pair of camouflage pants with a tattered black muscle tee. His massive forearms had several scars lining up and down with ink work punctuating a few of the healed marks. "Doubt you would even awake this soon after the tumble you took. How you like my Houndoom? Doubt you have ever seen one in this region. You should feel lucky dear." The man knelt down to make eye contact with Paige, his true gruff appearance hidden behind a partial gray mask that covered the top of his head down to his nose and cutting off at his mouth. Black paint was etched around the mask's eyeholes to further emphasize his cold glare and chilling smile. "Now you are obviously no threat to us and we want your cooperation here. I propose if you stay quiet and come with us, you get your Pidgey back. If you try to escape or make too much noise though, my Houndoom will make sure you won't even have bones to bury. Got it?" Pidgey was shook violently by the Houndoom on cue, bringing the tiny bird more up into his jaws. Paige muffled out a scream from the hound's action but turned back to the man in soft sobs and nodded in agreement, pleading him with her eyes to stop harming her pokemon. The man grinned as he exposed several iron teeth caps and patted her roughly on top of her head. "Glad we have an understanding princess. Now here's the thing . . ."

Before the muscular framed man could finish, the sound of steel being slammed into came from the opposite side of the van. From Paige's side, the van was rocked towards her and the man. The shadow of the vehicle covered the two of them before balancing on tires. The man put his arm up as it reached this point out of instinct and pushed back with a shove, watching it fall back to its previous positioning with a hard thud. The shocks of the vehicle absorbed the drop while the man stood back up and muttered a few selected curse words. "Hey! What's going on over there!?" The female's voice came from the other side in a startled tone.

"You better get over here! We got some kind of company here!" The man gritted his teeth together and waved his Houndoom to follow. The hound pokemon spit out the Pidgey on the ground, assured that with the crippled wing it wouldn't be able to go far.

A few droplets of sweat had formed on the woman's brow as she stood next to a large caved in section of her vehicle's side. Her hand was placed at her hip and gripped onto a pokeball. The man had rejoined his partner in time to view a young teenage boy standing up on the hillside in the pathway staring down at them. The boy rested one of his hands on the back of his head, scratching softly through his charcoal locks while the other held onto a great ball. A skull headed pokemon had just recovered from an attack, resting a large bone club on its shoulder with a glare downwards. The teen however retained his cold and calm stare as he gripped the great ball tightly into his fingerless gloved grip. Dressed in a casual pair of tattered jeans and an artistic rendition of an exploding ultra ball painted across his t-shirt along with a baggy windbreaker, the boy seemed to be a trainer sticking his nose where it didn't belong. The masked man waved his female comrade back as he walked forward with the Houndoom pacing closely behind.

"You go load the girl up in the van and I will deal with this brat." The woman complied and walked around to the other side of the vehicle in a quickened pace as the man's Houndoom continued to encroach forward after his owner had stopped by the van. "Well congratulations kid! You just moved up to the top of my shit list! Aren't you lucky!? Since we are in a hurry though, I'm only gonna beat on you until you bleed and not until you break! Same goes for your pokemon too!" With that, the man forcefully thrust his fist up and opened it to issue a silent command to his Houndoom to charge and attack. The black hound howled out loudly as it ran forwards up the hill to leap into the sky above and plunge downwards on top of the Marowak who stood quietly next to his owner. Both would look up at the descending pokemon with calm demeanors right up until the Houndoom made contact.

* * *

The woman approached Paige and removed the steel hoop from the ground at her ankles. Paige had watched her Pidgey stumble away, most likely looking for a place to roost and recover. The sound of battle could be heard on the other side of the van and it didn't sound like it was going well for either side. Paige was swung over onto the shoulder of the woman and was brought to the back of the vehicle. Paige had her eyes closed, not wanting to see the battle and the suffering of the pokemon involved. The woman opened the doors and dropped Paige inside.

Right before she would close the door, a sudden shrill cry came barreling out of the tree line thicket and slammed into the female's hip and sending her spinning and body to the ground in a jerking motion. Pidgey landed at the tailgate of the vehicle after striking the woman with a quick attack and hopped over to Paige and continue the futile attempt at unbinding her wrists. The woman stood up from the attack with a wince and marched over to the opened door with full intent to wring the Pidgey's neck until she heard a pop. Waiting for her was Paige's size 7 boots that launched forward to meet with the woman's angry face. The impact sent the woman back to the ground as she would remain there for the time being. Paige sat up and quickly looked around the inside of the dimly lit back. To a mixture of her horror and relief, a stained blade was hung on a crudely constructed mount along with several other tools of unknown purpose. Pushing her wrists up to the serrated edge she sawed up and down until the rope came undone and giving her free hands to pull the gag from her mouth. Pidgey immediately leaped up into her arms as Paige welcomed it into her hold and nuzzled the bird's soft feathers lightly to her face.

"Thank you Pidget. You never let me down do you", Paige praised as she took her pokeball off her belt and recovered Pidgey into the safety of it. Taking a second glance around the back of the vehicle she realized that the two had spoken about one of the packages being recovered. Without much difficulty, Paige found the rectangular box and picked it back up before turning around peeking out of the back. A sudden violent slam emanated from the exterior of the frame, making Paige react by bolting out of the back door and fleeing out into the tree line.

The Houndoom was pinned up against the side of the van by the Marowak's bone club at its neck. The hound snapped viciously at Marowak's head but was difficult to make contact at this angle. Marowak held firm, even with the claws and fangs of Houndoom scratching up against its skull. The masked man stood beside the pokemon, watching as the upper hand had quickly been gained by the young trainer. Still, even with the situation at hand, he was able to see Paige leap from the vehicle and take off to the tree line with the package they had stolen in her arms and pressed to her chest. He had come so far and he would not let this girl ruin everything.

"Houndoom! Flamethrower right in its face!" The Houndoom reared its head back and spit out a large gout of flames into Marowak's skull in a constant stream. Marowak winced at the fire, stumbling backwards a bit from the intense heat and giving the hound enough wiggle room to free itself. The man turned and pointed to the forest with a command ,"Go and capture that girl by any means! I want that package!" The man began to run after Paige with Houndoom easily overtaking him and cutting into the trees. The trainer up on the slope recalled Marowak quickly to the great ball and slid down the hillside to join in the chase soon afterwards.

* * *

Paige stumbled through the trees and branches, her forehead throbbing from the fall still as her eyesight would grow fuzzy once in a while with her pulse racing wildly. She had no way of knowing just where she was going until the trees began to part way and expose the riverbank. Coming to a halt at the edge she looked down into the water drop off and noticed how deep it was. What pokemon inhabited such depths? She had heard stories of Goldeen and Seaking males during spawning seasons becoming quite aggressive to swimmers and even tales of wild Gyarados who wait in these sort of drop offs. While Paige would clench the package tightly at her chest, she could hear something leaping free of the brambles and branches.

Pivoting back around, she gave an audible gasp as the Houndoom had appeared in front of her once more. Its lips had curled up, exposing it fanged maw and letting out a deep rolling growl accompanied by a huff of deep red fire from the snout. It wouldn't be long afterwards she could hear his trainer pushing branches aside and approaching. Paige backed up a bit more, looking back at the waters then over to the cornering hound's eyes growing with an unearthly fire. As soon as Paige heard someone breaking free of the branches, the hound lunged forward with jaws parted wide open. Paige knelt down with her body covering the package instinctively; head down with her eyes closed. Bracing herself to feel the sting of the dark pokemon's bite she would wait . . . and yet it did not come. She could hear fangs crunching into bone but did not feel anything on her body. Her head carefully rose back up with eyelids parting to take a peek.

Her mouth parted in a second gasp as standing between her and the hound was a brown skinned pokemon standing on hind legs and holding a large bone club between the jaws of the Houndoom to absorb the oncoming crunch. A skull that the pokemon wore had been scorched by the fire earlier, leaving a black tint and several hairline cracks along it. Still, the pokemon showed no sign of fatigue. Instead, this pokemon only let out a garbled growl that sounded like he was enjoying every bit of this conflict.

_Marooo . . . _

Behind the two pokemon locked in a stalemate was the trainer that had been standing up on the hillside. His garnet eyes were locked onto the girl for a brief moment before he would utter a command and turning his attention to his pokemon.

"Marowak. Double-Edge."

Marowak dropped down to one knee as it retained a grip onto the bone club. The Houndoom seemed to believe it had the upper hand here and wrenched its neck backwards, pushing up onto its hind legs to pry the club from the opponent's grip and send it flying. As the hound opened its jaws to emit another direst hit with a flamethrower, the Marowak leaped forward with its head lowered and emitting a trail of yellow energy behind it. The skull of Marowak smashed into the lower jaw of Houndoom and forced its jaws to clamp hard back together as a few fangs splintered and broke free. The hound let out a high pitched yelp as it fell onto its back and was knocked out cold.

The silence after the battle was eerie as Paige could feel her heart racing fast and her mind trying to gather up what just happened. The trainer had caught the bone club in midair with a leap and returned the weapon back to his pokemon before returning attention to Paige. Paige's lower lip quivered as she looked up at him with a bit of confusion on her face before the boy spoke in a soft but cold demeanor. "Right . . I suppose it is safe to assume that you have a lot of questions going on in that head of yours. By the look of that goose egg though, I am surprised you are up and even coherent at this point. Sorry . . I'm Isaac. You can stand, right", the boy questioned. His hand reached out down to her, waiting for her to take his invitation. Paige swallowed hard and reached up to take his hand, welcoming the help this time.

Suddenly, the package in her lap game a soft shift from side to side. Paige froze, her hand hanging in the air as she looked down to the parcel top. Isaac dropped his hand and took a few steps backwards, his Marowak following his lead as they left Paige sitting at the riverside with the box. The box game another light shift from side to side but this time the brown cardboard gave off a golden glow and flooded the area with the energy. Paige's eyes focused on the package, everything she knew was telling her to push it away from her, throw it in the river or toss it into the trees. Yet her other hand slipped back around the box once more and held it closer to her small chest. The package caught a ghostly white fire and burned away at the cardboard construction. Paige didn't feel any pain from the fire; instead it seemed to ease her tired bones and injuries. The fire pulsed softly in her hold, like a little heartbeat as the package completely dissolved to reveal an orange and red pattered egg with streaks of yellow and white swirled around it. The shell suddenly made a thick crack down the center, splintering from this major line and flaking off smaller pieces. Without warning, the egg exploded in an eruption of flames and shell bits, scorching the ground around it.

Isaac put his arms up to shield his face as the flakes of shell singed his clothing while Marowak stood firm and took the fragments into its hide. Paige had to close her eyes from the initial blast but reopened them as she stared down at the newly hatched pokemon in her lap. The orange, bipedal reptile yawned out and took its first breath of Kanto air while rubbing its sleepy eyes and letting the emerald orbs look around this new world. The first thing the little pokemon focused on was the human that was gazing down at it. The smudges across her cheeks of ash and blood mixed in a dark red patchy pattern as her blue eyes gazed back into its own. Her pigtails smoked lightly from the fragments of shell bits embedded in and her pink touched lips still quivered from the situation at hand. A cheerful smile grew on the newborn's face as it reached up and embraced the human's chest with his outstretched arms. His small little claws gripped into the fabric to hold onto the human with a happy nuzzling into her body as it spoke out.

_Charmander! Char!_

The flame at the tip of its tail glowed with a golden light, burning brightly and doubling in size while it hugged the human girl. Paige sat there shocked and in awe, never seeing a pokemon hatch before. Isaac appeared to be at a loss for words as well and had a startled look to his face. Paige gazed back up to Isaac a bit too quickly and all of the day's events came rushing to her head and brought her eyes to roll backwards as she began to fall. A quick witted Isaac closed the gap and caught her by the collar of her vest with a tight grip as her head fell backwards and almost into the river. The Charmander in Paige's lap still held onto her as Isaac did his best to avoid getting burned by the wagging tail. Isaac knelt down and put his other hand on Paige's back to support her as he would pull her back forward to slump her face onto his shoulder. A deep exhale escaped his lips as he slowly shook his head, hoping the situation here had not just gotten more complicated.


	3. Chapter 2: Isaac! You jerk!

Paige would wake slowly in a soft daze, feeling the sunlight hitting her eyelids as the rays bounced off the walls once more. She begrudgingly pulled the sheets once more over her head, denying that the morning had come. A soft hum of relaxation came from her throat when she nuzzled back into the sheets. The sudden forceful yanking of the fabric away from her body made her eyes slam open and grip a handful of her pillow to sit up swinging.

"You little brat! Get out of my-" Paige had given a good few swings, hitting her target's head a couple of times before a hand had reached up and gripped her wrist. The strength of this person was not her little brothers as she expected. Looking back at her was a tall teen with his clothing still singed with scorch marks. His eyes met hers in an icy glare as a few feathers had escaped the pillow and now descended to the floor or on his shoulders. It took Paige a few seconds to look around and realize that this was not her home. Instead she sat up in a hospital bedroom, the view outside the window overlooking Viridian City's business district. Isaac stood there quietly with an irritated look crossed over his face but not replying to her assault quite yet. In his free hand he gripped the sheets torn free from the bed. The other hand held onto Paige's wrist to halt the swings. Paige's stared back at him with a bit of a blank stare, feeling embarrassed before his grip loosened up enough where she could slide it free and drop the pillow into her lap. "Ummm . . . so-sorry. I don't mean to- I just thought that . . ", Paige stammered and fumbled over her words, her face growing a bit warm at the embarrassment. Isaac tossed the sheets back over her head and walked over to a metal stand in the corner of the room to pick up a cup and pitcher full of ice water. While he did so, Paige pulled the sheets off of her head and glanced around the room.

The hospital's off white walls and bleach scrubbed floors gave a strong impression of cleanliness but stung at her eyes and nose. Beside the bed on the nightstand her delivery vest had been folded up and placed next to her back bag along with other personal belongings. Looking off to her right, several motivational pictures had been added to the wall next to the window. Each one had the silhouette of a pokemon or trainer with words like 'endurance' or 'compassion'. Reaching up to investigate her forehead she would find a thick patch of gauze had been placed over the area where she had fallen. Her skin in general had a few scraps and cuts but all looked like they were superficial and would heal fully in a matter of a few days. Paige wasn't that worried as she had suffered a lot worse in the past from bike falls.

Isaac had approached her bedside, holding the glass of fresh water with plenty of ice chips resting at the top. Paige smiled lightly and reached out for the glass. Isaac ignored her hand and took a seat at the foot of her bed while drinking a gulp down himself. "Umm . . . Isaac was it", Paige questioned, watching him as he enjoyed himself with a bit of irritation growing in her voice.

"Well your memory is intact at least. That's more than I can say for your bike though." Paige narrowed her eyes a bit at his tone. It was almost as if he was enjoying himself at her misfortune. Closing her eyes and thinking, the events of the day started to come back to her.

"I figured that the day was going so well for me, something was bound to happen and ruin it. What exactly am I missing here? Why do I get the feeling that I wasn't just randomly attacked by a couple of common thugs . . and what happened to the masked guy? He was chasing me earlier but only that black pokemon caught up", Paige questioned, mostly to herself but Isaac complied with an answer after a deep resentful sigh.

"Those 'thugs' are not common by a long shot. Those two were Pokémon poachers." Crossing his arms over his chest he turned his head away from her to gaze out into the late afternoon sky. Paige opened her eyes and pulled her knees up to her chest, replacing the pillow behind her and tucking the sheet more around her. "What exactly they were doing attacking a simple courier was a mystery to me up until that egg hatched. No doubt they were after that pokemon. As for the masked man you mentioned . . the global police have named him Skinner. I was able to catch up with him and knock him out . . don't ask how I managed that. You were lucky the area was thick with trees or he would have likely used one of his stronger pokemon against you." Paige arched up a brow as Isaac turned his head back to look at her reaction, seeing the question coming to her mind. "I have heard of trainers having run-ins with him before. A few are able to make an escape with their remaining pokemon still safe. Others are not so lucky. If I hadn't come across you when I did, that Charmander of yours would have be-"

"CHARMANDER", Paige yelled out. Isaac jumped up off the bed in a startle and juggled the glass between his hands, heart racing along with him as he gave her an annoyed look. "Where did Charmander go?! Is it ok?" Isaac signaled with his eyes over to the nightstand and pointed down. Paige turned back around to look at her vest and belt but this time she noticed a small light coming from below. Looking farther down under the stand she could see the Charmander from before sleeping soundly, despite the commotion she had made. The pokemon's tail was curled up around itself as the flame at the tip of his tail flickered softly with each breath it expired. Resting on its stomach while it let out soft snores, Paige's heart melted at the adorable sight with her hands clasped together up onto her chest. Audibly her voice rose in tone as she said, "Awwwww! He looks so cute like that! Look at his little nose and claws! He's snoring!" Isaac seemed almost disgusted at her baby voice, clearing his throat loudly to get her attention. Paige turned back around, dropping her hands down into her lap. "S-sorry. I never saw a baby pokemon before is all."

"Well savor it as it is now. I hear Charmanders grow pretty quick. What were you doing carrying around such a pokemon's egg anyway? What was it doing in that package?" Paige tapped her fingertip up to her lower lip in thought, recalling her clipboard before she encroached onto Route 1.

"Professor Oak had a standing order for the package it was in. I'm not quite sure but the stamps on the box looked like it came all the way from Johto. I was supposed to deliver it a few days ago but we have been kinda bogged down with business as of lately. Summer rush and all." Paige laughed softly, bonking herself on the head but only causing more pain to kick up from the injury as she immediately winced with her hands pressed over the spot accompanying a soft whimper. Isaac nodded, scratched the young stubble of his chin as he thought to himself. Paige recovered from the self-inflicted pain and let out a heavy sigh. "Thank you though."

"For what", Isaac asked, walking over to the adjacent wall in the room and resting his back up against it.

"I remember your Marowak coming to my aid by the river right before the egg hatched and I . . . guess I passed out. You must have brought me here right after that all happened, right? Thank you Isaac", Paige said with a soft tone, eyes lowering as she bowed her head forward a bit in appreciation for his help. She held her bottom lip in between her teeth as she rose back up to look at him. His gaze back at her was stiff, cold and seemingly uncaring at this point. Paige's face went white and numb, like she had just been barraged with Icicle Spear.

"Hmm . . . I need to make a call. You have fun there." Pushing off from where he stood, Isaac crossed the room to the exit. Paige quietly watched him, still feeling his intentional cold shoulder. Reaching out to take a hold of the handle Isaac paused after he pushed it down. "By the way Paige, what were you planning to do about the Charmander now?"

"I will take it to Professor Oak like I am supposed to. Even though it hatched I still need to make the delivery. I just hope I can get there in time before his lab closes. Wait a second . . . how did you know my name", Paige questioned, not recalling ever giving it out. Isaac cleared his throat and pointed to his chest.

"Your ID tag from the company vest. I figured you were smart enough to deduce that by yourself. I have been wrong before though." Isaac pushed the door away from the frame and left, swinging the door closed behind him as it closed with a slam.

Paige glared at the door, huffing out with a soft mumble. _Did he just call me stupid? _she thought to herself. Her face went a bit red with anger before she attempted to shake off the thought. The day had yet to end and she could at least deliver one more package to correct her mistake. It was unlikely she would run into those poachers again and if she hurried she might be able to recover the other boxes. Slipping out of bed, she hopped across the cold floor over to the stand where her personal belonging were. Shuffling through her nylon back bag she recovered her phone and flipped it open to send out a quick text to her family. Her nails tapping on the keypad paused halfway through, wondering how her mother would take the news that their daughter was attacked by poachers. Paige could hear her now.

_"It's way too dangerous for you to leave the house! You are staying here with me and going over the books. It will be fun dear. Mother and daughter, cramped up in this office. Tell me, do you have any boys you like? Your hair is a mess! Let me comb it out for you! Let me tell you about the Swellows and the Combees. You see dear, there comes a time in every young woman's life where . . . "_

Paige shivered a bit, feeling her stomach turn over. Closing the phone up she decided it would be best to keep this between her and her pokemon. Maybe the professor would be happy the egg hatched as well, considering that it is bound to happen sooner or later. After replacing her vest, belt and boots back where they belonged, she knelt down and couldn't help but let out another soft smile and giggle at the Charmander and how it had curled itself up. Her hands slipped under the frame of the pokemon, feeling its smooth skin under her fingertips and along her palms. Paige read about the starter pokemon in Pallet Town when she was younger and considered taking the rite of passage trip around Kanto. It was decided by her family that she would stay and help with the delivery business until her brother became old enough to take her place. That day was approaching quickly but Paige had her reservations about leaving home. The Charmander stirred in its slumber as she had lifted the small pokemon up and cradled it on its back like a child. Charmander twitched his nose a bit, his small claws reaching up to scratch the irritant as Paige watched with a wide grin. The sudden sneeze that produced a shower of embers hit Paige in the face, leaving hot ash and patches of reddened skin over her forehead and cheeks. Whimpering softly from the low powered attack, Paige stood back up and headed to the door into the hallway to sign out. Hopefully it wouldn't take long or she would have to make an excuse and dash out.

* * *

The Viridian City Hospital was surprisingly more than understanding with all things consider. After trying to convince the staff about her job's importance and a little bluffing, Paige discovered that Isaac had already talked to them about her job and was told when she got up she could leave. Was he helping her because he felt bad for what happened? Maybe he worked for Professor Oak and wanted to make sure his delivery got to Pallet Town safety. If that was true though, he could have easily taken the Charmander with him. Something wasn't making sense at this point but Paige would focus on the task at hand. The first thing she needed to do was recover the other packages and head directly to Pallet Town.

Paige was out of breath by the time she found where her bike had crashed. She had sent Pidgey out to scan the tree line for the poachers but it looked like they had taken their vehicle and were long gone. Charmander had awoken during the light jogging Paige had been focused in and took the opportunity to greet her once more with a happy embrace. The pokemon's tail swung around and singed the ends of her pigtails as she attempted to pry him off of her chest. For a juvenile, Charmander seemed to be able to keep up fairly well with the jog and didn't appear winded at all. With no pokeball to carry him in, the extra pair of eyes would assist in the search anyway.

Paige stared down at her bike's remain with mournful eyes. It took her years of saving and a very expensive loan from her parents to get that bike and now it was ruined. The frame and wheels had been bent and broken from the impact as well as scuff marks had been imprinted all over it by a heavy boot. Her mournful eyes turned to anger, noting to herself if she met this Skinner guy again, she would find a way to make him pay. Charmander continued to run around her happily, spouting out his name over and over again without grasping the situation at hand. Pidgey glided overhead with a soft call out to alert her of company. Paige immediately turned her head to see Isaac carefully making his way down the slope from the main path. Paige turned her head away and ignored him, trying to focus on searching the tree line for the missing packages.

"Are you still nosing around here? You know it's dangerous to go off road without a pokemon to protect you." Paige exhaled a sharp huff and turned to him, pointing up into the sky.

"Pidget has my back and this Charmander will help too. I am not completely helpless and a lot smarter than you think." Paige snapped at him but the demeanor didn't seem to faze him as he stared back at her quietly. She would turn back around and rustle through the grass once more under a tree while grumbling.

"Listen I-"

"I am not looking for any help Isaac but if you want to assist me I would appreciate it."

"No that's not-"

"Isaac! I want to finish my job as soon as I can. Talking isn't-"

"Caterpie"

"Wha?" Paige turned around to look at Isaac. Isaac pointed up to the top of her head with a light chuckle. Paige looked up at the brim of her hat before reaching up to feel gently at the top. Her fingertips squished softly into a body, hands clasping around it and lifting the bug off her head. The caterpie she held upside-down in her grip wiggled and flailed a bit with its body before looking at Paige from its position. Paige didn't have a problem with bugs but the sudden appearance of this pokemon combined with the spray of stench that emitted from its red antenna were deciding factors in her response. "EEEKKK!" Paige threw the Caterpie up into the air into the trees and jumped up, running away from the tree with the Charmander happily following her like it was a big game. The caterpie grabbed a hold of a branch and hurried into the thicket of the tree. Isaac stood there with a chuckle and shook his head, walking over to Paige as she clutched her chest and tried to catch her breath once more. Putting his hand on her shoulder he would pat her back softly before retorting.

"Yes. I can see you are fully capable by yourself. Still, one shouldn't turn their nose up to someone who is so willing to help you." Isaac reached up behind his jacket and pulled down a netted sack off his shoulder and held the contents up to Paige. The two missing packages hung within the bag, a few scuffs and scrapes from the fall from before but both appeared to be in good shape. Paige looked up at the packages, putting her hands out as Isaac dropped the sack into her awaiting arms. "I admit I was a bit rude at the hospital but I intend to make it up to you. I came back here to see if you left anything behind and look at what I found. Also, if you plan on getting into Pallet Town before sundown, you are going to need a set of wheels to get you there." Paige looked back at him, feeling relieved at the aid he offered.

"You have a bike I can borrow then?"

* * *

Back up on the main path, Isaac approached a large hedge on the side of the road and walked behind it. Paige stood beside it and watched with a tilt in her head, Pidgey taking roost on the top of her fedora while Charmander had calmed down enough so that he could be held under one of her arms with his back resting into her chest. Isaac came walking out from behind the bush, pushing a motorcycle with an adjoined sidecar. Paige looked over the well-kept red frame of the bike in a bit of awe, leaning forward to see the reflection of her freshly marked face from the embers earlier. Embarrassed, she rubbed furiously over it with her free arm as Isaac laughed at her attempt to look more presentable.

"Not the type of wheels you are used to but it will get us there much faster than walking the rest of the way. Hop aboard", Isaac said as he dug into the interior of the sidecar to recover his black imprinted Zubat helmet. He turned around and extended his hand back out to her with a smile and exposing his row of pearls, the wind choosing to kick up at this time to ruffle his black bangs away from his warm garnet shaded eyes. Paige blinked, gazing back at the boy with warmth growing to her face at the way the evening sun highlighted his features well. Reaching up, she placed her hand gently and decided to give this guy another chance. Isaac jerked her arm suddenly to the bike as she would stumble forward and up against the sidecar. Isaac strapped his helmet on while mounting on his bike. Paige took a seat into the car and looked down at her feet, searching the compartment for a second helmet. A backpack, a few empty can and a set of cables resided on the floorboard but no helmet was present. Charmander wagged his tail happily side to side in front of her as it began to sing softly to itself.

"Umm . . . Hey. Where's the other helmet?" Paige looked up at Isaac as the engine kicked over and was revved up to force his tires into a spin quickly, firing up a wave of dirt and pebbles from the path. The jolt of speed in taking off caught Paige by surprise. Her back slammed up against the seat as she raised both arms up to grip a hold of her hat.

Pidgey tumbled off into the air, recovering by spreading its wings and followed the vehicle with a choir of angry chirps out. "Sorry Pidget", Paige yelled out backwards as Charmander stood up and looked out the side of the car over to the trees that flew by with a happy smile. Paige didn't seem to enjoy the view as much, tilting her head forward with eyes closed and grip still tightly onto her hat. She called out for Isaac to slow down but the young man either could not hear her or didn't care to reply. His tongue slid up over his upper lip as he could see the bike approaching a ledge that led down farther off the path and closer to Pallet Town. Paige noticed it as well. "N-no Isaac! Don't you dare! Turn! Turn now!"


	4. Chapter 3: Paige, the Pokemon Trainer

Paige hung her arms and head out the side of the car with labored breaths. Isaac looked back at her after he had removed his tinted helmet. Cradling it under his arm, he couldn't help but snicker at Paige and her lack of poise at this time.

"Was it the speed or the jumps down the slopes that got you?" Paige stared up at him with her best attempt at a Glare attack, her stomach trying to hold onto her breakfast earlier in the day while maintaining her menacing look. Isaac didn't look too impressed, reaching up and scratching behind his ear while pointing behind himself with his thumb. "We are here anyway." Paige regained her color quickly as she hopped out of the sidecar and looked up at the laboratory.

The large structure stood out from the other buildings in Pallet Town for its wind turbines, the three windows of the inner balcony and the four windows of the second floor. All that was standing between her and completing this long and tiring day was a set of stairs that would lead her up to the front door. The sun had begun to set by now but there was still plenty of light in the summer evening. The flowering trees and gardens in Pallet Town expelled a vibrant scent that invigorated her mind and body. The stone laid steps didn't take long to traverse as she jogged up with one arm wrapped around the Charmander, the other holding the straps of the net bag. Pidgey was recalled earlier in the motorcycle ride after Isaac had started gunning the vehicle to see just how high the bike would go off the ledges. Charmander didn't seem to mind at all about the reckless driving. In fact, the pokemon almost seemed to cheer in enjoyment at each leap.

Reaching the overhang of the front door, Paige gasped for breath and promised herself that she would get into better shape in the near future. This was an utterly ridiculous day. Setting the Charmander down next to her, the pokemon would look up at Paige wipe her brow clean and reach out to knock on the front door. Paige attempted to control her breathing, standing up straight and looking like she was going about her business as usual. The door creaked open as an older man in a white lab coat stood at the threshold. His faded blue eyes peered down at Paige through a large set of goggles modeled after a bug pokemon's eyesight. His hair had long since grayed over, changing from a rich brown in his younger years. The man held a large stack of books balanced on one of his arms as he gazed at Paige while she would reply to the odd sight with an awkward pause.

"Ahh . . . . "

"Yes yes, both of you come in", the man said as he pushed the front door open and turned back to walk into his lobby. Paige walked past the doorframe with Charmander in tow while looking around the room.

The lobby looked like a well-kept living room in a home and nothing like Paige expected from a Pokémon researcher. A pink carpet was laid out beneath two couches and a coffee table above it with a set of computers and bookshelves on the side. The adjacent doors to the living room looked to be some sort of storage rooms but Paige couldn't make much out from behind the tiny windows on the doors. The older man pulled the goggles off of his head and placed them down on top of the table in the main sitting area. "So what can I do for you two today?" Paige arched up her brow at his words. Two?

"This is Paige and I am Isaac. I found her wandering around Route 1 and said she had some sort of delivery for you." Paige jumped and turned around to find Isaac standing behind her. _How the hell did he manage to run up behind me like that? I didn't even hear his footsteps . . . _

"Well now, let's see what you have got here." Paige nodded and opened up the bag and removed the two packages, placing them onto the coffee table next to where the goggles were. "Ahh yes! This is wonderful! I was worried that these got lost in the mail. Thank you Paige. These are just what I needed to continue my research." Paige let out a breath of relief, feeling a light tug on her opaque tights. Looking down she was greeted by the Charmander's smile up at her.

"Oh! I also have this professor, sir." Paige reached down and scooped up the Charmander in her arms as it happily chimed out, enjoying the human's touch. Professor Oak looked puzzled as she held the pokemon out to him. It soon dawned on her that he wasn't expecting a pokemon. He was expecting another package. "Well . . the thing is that one of your packages . . . hatched! Hehe . . . I'm sorry that I didn't get it to you sooner." Professor Oak's face went from puzzled to more stern with concern. The professor requested the two to wait in the lobby for a few moments as he made a call, leaving Isaac and Paige alone.

Paige took a seat on one of the wooden framed couches and leaned back into the white cushions with Charmander sitting in her lap. Isaac stood against a wall across from her with his arms crossed over one another and letting out a soft ticking sound of disappointment. Paige picked up on this instantly. "What?"

"What what?"

"Don't start with me. Please. It has been a very long day and the last thing I need is to be scolded by you before getting chewed out by Professor Oak."

"Oh", Isaac replied, "how do you know he is going to chew you out? Did you do something wrong?" Paige looked down at the top of the Charmander's head, sliding her hand over it and softly rubbing over the skin while Charmander made a sound of enjoyment from the attention.

"I did do something wrong. I let my work pile up on me during the summer when I should have just got it done with. Occasionally I feel resentment that I am given such a workload without any help . . . so I make sure to space it all out. I usually am careful about dates and labels but this time I spent too much time off and missed a few packages and they were delivered late." Paige smiled, dropping her head, feeling the sting of defeat as her actions had prevented this man from getting his parcels. Isaac dropped his shoulders a bit and listened to her, sensing she was attempting to be genuine at this point. "If I would have taken care of this, they would have been shipped out earlier and all of this trouble you and I went through would have never likely happened."

Isaac walked over to Paige and stood in front of her. Paige looked up at him as her eyes had grown a bit watery from feeling bad about herself and the situation she had dug herself into. Isaac would only smile, reaching down to place his hands on her shoulders but instead he took a pinch hold of both of her cheeks and pulled in opposite directions. Paige winced and looked back up at him shocked at his actions. Still, Paige didn't push or pull away as she gazed up at his smile.

"I didn't know you had a rebel streak in you like this. Here I was thinking you were delivering and shipping all by the books but it looks like you have a bit of a Slakoth in you. Typical." Isaac let go of her cheeks but not his smile. Paige felt like she should be upset at his use of his words but for some reason his tone carried a lot more teasing mannerism to it than a mean streak. "Listen to me. We all make mistakes once in a while and the important thing is to learn from them and move on, accepting what comes and making the best of the situation. Got it?" Paige nodded softly as the door Professor Oak took to leave the room opened back up. Paige immediately stood with arms wrapped around Charmander. Professor Oak's demeanor had lightened up to a pleased smile.

"Why don't you both get cleaned up and join me in the lab for a bit? I just made some dinner and I'd love to have the company."

* * *

Paige sat uncomfortably in the research room upstairs. Fidgeting a bit on the brown couch with half her dinner still in her lap she would look around the room at all of the technological pieces. She had no clue what the majority of these machines were used for but they must be involved in Pokémon testing.

In front of a blue chair where Professor Oak sat there was a large status screen that was showing the health and power of Charmander. The pokemon sat happily on the testing area as blue and green lights scanned over its body and input the data up for Professor Oak on his computer. Isaac had taken up to looking at a glass tank where several computers were hooked up to and viewing a Magikarp swim around slowly inside. On Professor Oak's computer, a brown haired man, slightly widow peaked, with glasses joined Oak in viewed the incoming data on a split screen.

Everyone seemed to be in depth with research or viewing while Paige just stirred her tofu and noodles softly with chopsticks. She was out of place and her comfort zone here. Dinner conversation wasn't that much easier either. Paige regaled the professor and Isaac with the tale on how she was ran off the road by a van and the two poachers that seemed interested in stealing the egg. Isaac kept quiet during this time while Professor Oak asked questions about the location of when the egg hatched and what people or pokemon were around at that time.

Letting out a deep sigh she closed her eyes and tried to find some comfort that the professor wasn't upset but pleased the egg hatched. Apparently Professor Elm, the individual on the split screen, had sent the egg to Professor Oak after the estimated hatching period had passed. Maybe it was just a late bloomer then? Whatever the reasoning, Paige had completed her final delivery and there was a sense of victory in that.

_Char Char! Charmander!_

Paige opened her eyes back up and looked down in front of her. Charmander gazed up at her with his claws resting lightly on her knees, his small fangs on the upper and lower jaw visible in his parted smile. Paige smiled, leaning forward to place her bowl on the coffee table behind Charmander before lifting the pokemon up into her lap. Charmander seemed to really be attached to Paige, like a duckling to its mother. Professor Oak had pulled his chair over to the couch where Paige sat, leaving Professor Elm up on the monitor in a full screen view. Isaac remained by the tank, turning around though to observe the dialog between the group.

"Now then", Professor Oak started, "it would seem that we have a bit of a problem still. Analysis shows Charmander is in good shape and by all measurements a normal individual of his breed. The issue comes up with his sudden hatching in your care. You do not seem to be an experienced trainer nor do you have a full party of pokemon with you." Paige winced a bit at his words. While she was sure it wasn't intentional, it still felt a bit like a jab. "Professor Elm originally was studying the egg and caring for it. A pokemon daycare worker brought him the egg after it was found in the field and refused to hatch." It was at this point Professor Oak turned to his computer screen as Professor Elm chimed in with a series of nods.

"I ran a battery of tests and confirmed the pokemon inside was alive but was unsure why it would not hatch. I thought it would be best to transfer the egg to somewhere where it could be around a lot of pokemon as this seems to elevate the likelihood and process of hatching. I talked with Professor Oak and he agreed to take the egg into his care."

"But wouldn't it have been easier to just transfer the egg through the PC systems", Paige questioned, feeling a bit more relaxed at speaking out. Professor Oak smiled and nodded.

"Oh yes, it would have been but Professor Elm's assistants identified a virus in his system and using it would have risked losing the egg in the transfer. We realized it would be safer to have someone ship it directly to me as soon as possible. I am still amazed that the egg landed in your care and hatched though. At first it appeared my workload had been cut in half but now it seems we have quite the daunting task ahead of us." Professor Oak smiled as he finished his sentence. Paige looked back and forth between the two professors as both of them not looked to her. Paige cleared her throat a bit at the silence before Isaac spoke out.

"Apparently you are involved as well Paige", Isaac stated as he walked over to rest his hands on the back of the couch and look over to Oak. "Correct Professor?"

"That's right Isaac. Paige is crucial to our hypothesis. Would you be willing to help us with a study Paige?" Paige looked at Professor Oak with a bit of confusion on her face but complied with a smile and nod. Professor Oak clapped his hands together in accomplishment. "Excellent. Paige, we need for you to raise this Charmander for us. The best way for you to do so would be to travel with Charmander and collect gym badges then to competing in the Pokémon League."

"Ok Professor. I will travel to col- . . . " Paige froze up, her smile melting away into a shocked and terrified state with her jaw hung open and eyes froze on the Professor. "Wait! What?! N-no! I mean I can't! I am not a trainer! I don't even like the idea of fighting pokemon and getting them hurt!" Paige's face grew a bit red from her outburst but felt better as Isaac joined in.

"Paige is right here Professor. The girl is ill equipped for the road ahead and the task at hand. Why not give the Charmander to an experienced trainer? It will have a better chance at growth that way." The Charmander seemed to understand what was going on and had a say in the matter.

_Charmander!_

Charmander clinched onto Paige and buried its face into her chest once more with the golden flame on his tail flickering and slightly decreasing in size. Isaac watched the display with a gruff sigh. Paige looked down at the top of Charmander's head, softly stroking her palm over his skin in an attempt to comfort it. The flame on the pokemon's tail grew in size once more as it gazed up at Paige. Oddly enough to Paige his face almost seemed like it was concerned. She knew it wasn't her imagination seeing his tail flame grow in strength.

Reading up on the starting pokemon from Kanto years ago, she would recall how the flame on a Charmander's tail indicated the health and mood of this pokemon. Within the short time of knowing this Charmander, she was well aware that his flame grew the brightest when he rested in her lap or in her arms. If she let him go, would that flame stay bright? Would she be the cause of his sadness for the rest of his life or would he get over it after a new trainer came for him? What if this new trainer only sought to fight Charmander and cared little for the pokemon's feelings? Would she be any better than that trainer if she gave him up now?

"It is not up to us Isaac." Professor Elm spoke up from the monitor. "Pokemon who hatch have a special bond with the trainer they first see. I discovered this in studies on Togepi and their initial reaction to a trainer. A pokemon hatched from an egg bonds much quicker to a trainer than those found in the wild and caught. Normally when we present potential starters to beginning trainers, we are very careful that this bond is not established with anyone so that the pokemon will bond with the new trainer. Now in Paige's case, she was present when Charmander hatched. The fact that this particular egg did not hatch up until Paige was in possession of it, combined with the fact that pokemon poachers are interested in obtaining it and the odd color flame to its tail, I am interested to see if this pokemon is simply an oddity within the numbers or has something unique about it without any disruption early on. If we were to separate Charmander from Paige we could be setting back its growth quite a bit. Maybe it we were to give Charmander to someone else that was there during the hatching. We can't force Paige to take Charmander if she is not willing so perhaps Isaac can-"

"I'll do it", Paige interrupted. She retained her gaze at Charmander's eyes; her fingertips dragging softly down his backside and watching the pokemon's smile grow. Isaac stammered to say something but was quickly cut off by Paige. "I admit I know little about pokemon in general and even less about being a trainer . . . but I don't think I could bear seeing Charmander sad if I had a say in it. Maybe it's because I feel responsible for him now or maybe I just have a soft heart for his sweet face." Paige giggled a bit as her fingertips pushed softly to its cheeks and watched the Charmander beam happily at her choice. "But I am willing to do what must be done. I don't ever want to see pokemon like him sad." Professor Elm and Oak looked at each other in agreement as Oak stood up and walked over to his computer to recover something he was saving for just an occasion. Isaac leaped over the back of the couch and took a seat next to Paige with a thud to get her attention.

"Paige you need to think carefully about this. If there were two pokemon hunters looking for Charmander when it was an egg, how many more do you think will be doing the same thing? Pokemon poaches and hunters care little about the life of pokemon and the people that get in their way. If you hold onto Charmander you are only going to get hurt." Isaac spoke with resolve and in a stern tone, trying to convince her that her choice was misguided. Paige smiled down at Charmander, shaking her head before looking back up at Isaac.

"If you are so concerned about Charmander and I, you can join us. After all, you seem to know how to handle yourself around poachers. You made short work of Skinner right?" Isaac stuttered a bit, retorting loudly with a bit of anger in his tone.

"Knocking someone out from behind and fighting them head on is two totally different things! You expect me to follow you around and lead you by your hand through all this? You will get eaten alive out there without help!"

"No Isaac", Paige shouted back. "I expect you to do as you please but know that I intend to do what I can for Charmander, even if that means I have to become his trainer and . . . b-battle pokemon. Show me how to fight and I will fight." Paige seemed determined in her resolve. This fire in Paige caught Isaac off guard, expecting her to be like a stereotypical lass.

"I think she could learn a lot from you Isaac as you could of her", Professor Oak interrupted as he held up a rectangular case to Paige's face. The blue eye on the lower left gave a click, a shutter closing and reopening as the red case flipped open at the center to display Paige's picture along with the title of 'Trainer'. "This is for you Paige. It is a Pokedex, a high tech encyclopedia to use on your journey to help you in identifying and cataloging the pokemon you see. Know that I do not give this to just any trainer. I am right about you Paige. It just will take you some time to realize your potential." Professor Oak smiled at Paige, her response a little in shock that he would remember her. It had been nearly 4 years since she visited his lab with her father. Now 14 years old, Paige had a second change.

Reaching up she took the Pokedex from the professor and looked down at her reflection looking back at her, glad she washed her face up before dinner now. "You will also need some pokeballs for catching pokemon. I am sure Isaac here will teach you all he knows in no time. From your story, he sounds like a skilled and competent trainer to learn from." Isaac let out a huff as he was volunteered into a task he wanted no part of. Still, his eyes glanced down at the Charmander and Paige as the Professors spoke about what she should do next. Perhaps it would be for the best this way.

* * *

Lying in the bed Professor Oak had supplied for the night in a guest room, it was hard to believe that she was going to start a pokemon journey tomorrow. She would have to let her family know of course. Her brother would have to pick up the slack while she was gone and that in itself was a victory to her. No more morning wakeup calls with Poliwag spitting water in her face. Even through the exhaustion of the day, she could not sleep yet. Resting her head under her arms she stared up at the ceiling in the dim flickering light.

Pidgey had perched herself on the headboard above and was sleeping soundly. There was no surprise there. Charmander had curled itself up on top of Paige's stomach until it dozed off. The weight of the pokemon was more comforting than annoying. The heat its body gave off was the only problem, especially in the summer. His tail rested in the middle of his curled up body and away from the sheets but Paige could only imagine waking up to her sheets being on fire. Maybe it would be best to recall him before she dozed off. Her right hand gripped the new pokeball for Charmander loosely. He accepted earlier that evening without any struggle. In truth, it was somewhat the same story with Pidgey.

Holding the ball up and over Charmander she whispered gently as a beam of red energy engulfing Charmander's body and pulled it back into the capsule. Holding the orb above her face for a few moments, it was all like a dream to her. She didn't want to wake up as much as she didn't want to go to sleep. Her worn pink gloss fingernails fit snug around the capsule while she smiled brightly. Curling up on her side she noticed the pokeball had warmed up to the touch. Paige brought her new companion up to her chest and clasped her other hand around it while closed her eyes. For a brief moment she could have sworn she felt a heartbeat in her fingertips in rhythm with hers but shrugged it off as she was finally dozing off. Tomorrow was going to be a great day.


	5. Chapter 4: Cold Friend or New Rival?

The next day was eventful. Paige was woken early by Isaac who wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. Paige's reply to that was less than favorable. After a final discussion with Professor Oak, the two trainers took to the road and headed back to Viridian City. With Isaac's bike flying through the grass and Paige's shout about slowing down, the local pokemon population steered clear. It wouldn't take long to reach home with the news.

Paige's father was a stoic man. He said he was happy that his little girl was spreading her wings to take on a pokemon journey. Some adjustments and cutbacks would have to be made in the business until next season but he would assure Paige that the family would be fine without her aid. Paige's mother was less thrilled about the idea that she would be traveling with a young boy like Isaac, immediately marking him as some sort of thug when he skidded to a halt in the front of their home. Still, her husband assured her that Paige was a big girl and was more than capable of taking care of herself. Paige's little brother was excited and seemed a bit jealous that his big sister was going out on her very own pokemon journey and pleaded with her to allow him to join. Paige declined, having her parents pry the little boy off of her arm.

Isaac informed Paige that she would need to pack light. The idea of being confined to one backpack of supplies was a new idea to her. There was a sense of excitement though in it. It took 3 tries to get everything to fit snuggly into the bag, most of it being cute outfits and shoes to go with them. Isaac didn't approve and dumped the bag out over the floor in front of her family. Paige's mother was ready to start swinging as her daughter's panties landed on top of the pile in full view while her father would only laugh and ask Paige to try again. The mid-morning was spent going through what she needed and what was not. After this task, Paige met up with Kali to say her goodbyes. Kali would remark how it was romantic that she was beginning her pokemon journey with a boyfriend. As soon as it was mentioned, Isaac spat out a mouthful of soda he was in the middle of drinking, demanding Paige to correct that statement. Paige happily did so, seeming more embarrassed than Isaac was.

The final stop would be at the local Pokemart. Paige's mother had been trimming her paychecks back just in case of this happening one day. While her intent was to buy cute articles of clothing like scarfs or ribbon bells for her pokemon, Issac pointed out she would need supplies like potions, antidotes, empty pokeballs and other tools that even the most basic trainer always would carry. Reluctantly passing up a few of the cuter items, she did manage to purchase a few postcards to send to her family while on the road. With their provisions in tow, Isaac and Paige hit the road and traveled north.

* * *

On the western path of Route 2, Paige took her first lesson from Isaac. Sitting with legs crossed out in front of herself and notepad in hand, she was eager to see what wisdom and insight he had in store for her. Isaac appeared to be a skilled trainer but she knew little about him and his methods. Isaac stood in the middle of a clearing with arms crossed back over his chest while holding onto a branch he had snapped from a tree. Staring down at Paige, he wondered where he would begin. She was a young trainer and had a lot to learn.

"Maybe we should begin with what you know about pokemon battle and move from there", Isaac stated, tapping the stripped branch up on his shoulder.

"Well . . I know that pokemon battles and fights between trainers and their pokemon to find out who is stronger, right?" The branch swung downwards and hit the top of Paige's head, still sore from the previous day as she covered the bump and stifled back a whimper.

"Amateur. A novice way of thinking. I can say I am not surprised. Pokemon battles are much more than that. Pokemon battles test the trainer on how they have raised their pokemon and how well they can control them." Putting the branch back up into his shoulder he reached down with his free hand to grab the great ball. Holding it out in front of her he continued. "Make no mistake, if you can't control your pokemon in the heat of battle, you mind as well be ordering attacks on yourself. It matters not how strong a pokemon is in a weak trainer's hands. It is all about domination through determination. Pokemon pick up on that. Pokemon crave a strong trainer and it is a disservice to that pokemon if you can't meet that expectation."

Paige listened but did not write down any notes. While her head still was sore from his discipline, her heart grew troubled. She had always been raised to believe pokemon and humans were allies and teammates. Pidgey and her got along well enough but there were times that the pokemon did not listen to her. She always adhered to the idea that as pokemon grew to care for you, they would listen better. Was Isaac right about pokemon in this way? His command of Marowak would suggest he knew what he spoke of.

"What about compassion and friendship with your pokemon? Kali and her Raticate get along great and they are really strong." Isaac had an answer to her question.

"I suppose Kali and Raticate have won every match so far then? Never have they lost?" Paige looked down in defeat as Isaac nodded. "That's what I thought . . . ever wonder why pokemon hunters are so strong? They recognize that pokemon are to be used and commanded. Friendship with your pokemon can make you soft and they in return will not listen to a soft owner."

Paige fumbled a bit with the spine of the notepad in thought while Isaac continued. Serious pokemon training and battling sounded like it was going to be hard. Still, her thoughts traced back to those hunters who had attacked her. Skinner didn't think twice about using his pokemon to threaten her. That couldn't be what Isaac meant by strength. There was more to it than that.

Isaac could see that she was a bit concerned about what he had said. This was something she would have to learn sooner or later and it was better she knew the truth now. Isaac turned his head off to the side as he heard rustling in the thick grass to their left. A demonstration might be for the best in this case. Isaac dropped the branch and tossed the great ball from hand to hand and approached the grass while Paige watched him. "Let me show you what I mean about command and control. Marowak!"

Isaac threw the ball forward past the rustling overhead. The blast of white light that emitted from the split ball forced a wild female Nidoran out into the opening. The small rodent-like pokemon had dropped a piece of bark it had been gnawing on and now looked backwards at where Marowak had landed. Isaac smirked; aware this would be fairly quick as long as the pokemon stood still. Taking a quick glance back at Paige to make sure she was paying attention, he issued the first command.

"Marowak. Bonemerang."

Marowak remained in the tall grass as the projectile came spinning out. Nidoran only had a moment to spare as her body flattened onto the ground to dodge the incoming aerial assault. The bone flew by the top of the pokemon and continued to travel through the air, past Isaac's face. The weapon had begun to curve around and return to its owner as Paige stood up to get a better view as what was going on. Isaac was slightly surprised the nidoran had avoided the attack but the next one would not be as easy.

"Now Marowak", Isaac shouted out, "use Double-Edge then follow it up with a Stone Edge!" Marowak erupted from the grass with a tail of yellow energy following. Marowak clipped Nidoran with its skull but was enough an impact to send the small light blue pokemon barreling head over paws, coming to a halt a few yards from Paige. Paige quickly looked down at the injured pokemon as its little body shuddered. _This is all wrong_ Paige thought to herself with feeling her heart begin to race. The Marowak had begun his final attack. Slamming his bone club into the soil brought up chucks of earth that circled around Marowak's body. Marowak's eyes began to glow white as rings of soil hardened into dense gray stones. Marowak cried out and swung its arm downwards to send the edged attack to Nidoran.

Midway through the air, Paige relived vivid flashbacks of her first match and how she stood there doing nothing. Her body seemed react without her mind's aid. Leaping forward on top of the injured Nidoran she covered the small pokemon with her body as she yelled out with eyes closed tightly.

"Stop it Isaac! It can't fight back!" Isaac let out an audible gasp as she had jumped into the way of the attack.

"Marowak! Divert!"

The stones had arced up at the last moment with a few grazing along Paige's back and tearing away at her plaid tank top while scratching over her flesh. The stones continued upwards until Marowak clenched its paw to force the attack to slam hard down into the ground next to Paige. Isaac was at lost for words.

Paige felt the pokemon's spines along its back poking into her skin gently. A sense of dizziness had begun to form in her balance after she released the pokemon and sat up. Nidoran struggled up to its feet and made a mad dash away from her and back into the tall grass around them. Isaac walked over to Paige as she attempted to focus her eyes at the blur that stood over her. Sounds were muffled a bit as she heard the blob rummaging around then a cold stinging wetness began to ripple over her. Isaac knelt down beside her and continued to spray the scratched areas with a recovered antidote until Paige's pupils readjusted and focused on Isaac. Before she could speak, Isaac had dropped the spray bottle and gripped onto her shoulders with a firm shake.

"What the hell is your problem?! Do you have a suicidal wish or something?! Those stones could have torn you apart, not to mention a Nidoran's spines are toxic! You really are an idiot with no clue how this all works!" Isaac had a general concern in his tone mixed with the anger. He never was one to travel with company and the notion that a person would be this stupid was new to him. Paige dropped her hand down on the soil for a moment beside her before swinging it up to strike Isaac in his face. Isaac was a very skilled trainer but when an attack is unexpected, there is little you can do. Isaac felt the sting of the swift moving palm striking his cheek and jerking it off to the side.

"You're wrong."

Isaac turned back to look at her, dropping hands down to his sides as Paige pulled away to sit back down onto the ground. "You are . . wrong." Reaching back up to his face he put his hand against his cheek and felt the sting as Paige continued. "That had nothing to do with command or control. You are just bullying on a weaker pokemon! That had nothing to do with strength!" Paige breathed heavy in her anger while Isaac's face stared back at her and grew cold once more. He would remain silent for a moment until he stood up and turned away to walk past his Marowak to recover its ball. Paige stared down into the soil with her jaw clenched, clothing stained in the purple shaded antidote while Isaac had taken the time to recover Marowak and start up his motorcycle. Paige didn't look up as he revved his engine a few times before Isaac's bike jolted forward and took off north back onto the path.

Paige sat quietly, alone with her own thoughts. Maybe her reaction was out of line. Even if she didn't agree with him, there was no reason to hit him. Her father always told her to never strike anyone unless she was expecting to be hit back. Instead, she let her anger get the best of her when all Isaac was trying to do was help. It might have been wrong in her eyes but she knew nothing about battling or even capturing pokemon. Still staring down at the soil she slid her hands over the dirt and closed her eyes while trying to hold back the anger and frustration she had growing inside of her.

Paige was unsure just how long she sat there before she felt a soft nudge at her wrist. Her eyelids parted to look down at the small light blue pokemon staring back up at her. The Nidoran placed its paw back onto her wrist and leaned into it with a light ticking of its teeth together. Paige smiled softly and reached up to rub her eyes with her other arm and let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm fine Nidoran. Just being stupid is all." Paige paused, staring back down at the pokemon. "I admit I don't know what I am doing but I am trying my best. I just don't want any pokemon to get hurt at all. Is it right to have pokemon fight with risk of getting hurt when you just shout out commands?" Crossing her legs over one another and readjusting, the Nidoran moved away as she shifted her weight but after she had settled it crept closer again. "I don't care what Isaac says. Pokemon shouldn't be commanded to hurt one another. Maybe . . . I made the wrong choice agreeing to this journey?" Paige wasn't really talking to Nidoran as much as she was just venting to herself. The pokemon though seemed interested enough in her to encroach closer as she spoke up to putting its paws onto her leggings and gazing up at her with occasional wiggles if its whiskers.

Paige was ready to reach out a pet the pokemon but stopped herself and remembered what Isaac had said about the spines. Instead she only would continue to talk with Nidoran as it just would click its teeth together in light ticking sounds as if it was responding. "Charmander is happy now but how long will that last? I can't fight without freezing up like before. If I freeze while Pidgey or Charmander are in battle, they could get seriously hurt."

Paige recalled her first practice match and how it went awry. She was still very young and had no real experience. Matched up against a senior student, she could barely stammer out an attack and before she knew it, the Rattata she was using was defeated. Paige still could remember the taste of dry cotton in her throat, making it hard to swallow and her hands shaking. Just thinking about it made her sick once more. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she did not hear the pokeball at her side erupt open.

_Charmander! Char!_

Paige glanced up at Charmander, looking quickly at her belt loop at his pokeball then back at him.

"Charmander?" Paige had no clue pokemon could leave their pokeballs when they wanted. She always assumed they would remain within them until called on. Charmander however walked up to Paige and put its hands onto her knee and gave a joyful smile. The Nidoran looked at Charmander for a few seconds then back up to Paige with the same smile.

_Could Charmander have heard me then? Are you both trying to reassure me? _Paige felt the pressure on her chest and throat rise up, sliding her hand over Charmander's head and petting the pokemon with a soft smile. Charmander nuzzled up happily to her touch, the Nidoran taking notice. Nidoran pushed up with its paws and climbed into Paige's lap and made connection with her other hand. Paige looked down, a bit surprised at the reaction but felt as the pokemon's small horn and back spines grazed her skin but had no reaction like before.

* * *

Paige rummaged in the pocket of her skirt to withdraw the Pokedex, flipping it open and pointing it to the Nidoran. Chamander spoke to Nidoran happily while the pokemon sat and nodded, listening to Paige's new partner. The Pokedex gave an audible beep as the screen displayed a picture along with reading out statistics about the pokemon.

_*Bing* Nidoran, the poison pin pokemon. This females of this species carries smaller horns but powerful poisons that the male. Nidoran will only use this poison when it feels threatened as this pokemon is usually quite docile unless attacked. One drop of this pokemon's poison from its horn can be quite deadly _

"Quite a femme fitale huh? Guess it was good I didn't get a full dose", Paige remarked as she closed the Pokedex back up. Charmander at the Nidoran seemed to be getting along quite well. Looking back up on the road, it was clear that Isaac was not coming back for her. Still, she had the resolve to push on. "Come on Charmander. We need to get moving if we are going to make it to Pewter City before dark, right?" In truth she could only speculate. Charmander cheerful nodded and chimed up its voice. Nidoran sat and watched the young trainer pull the Charmander back into its pokeball before returning her attention. "Are you going to be ok Nidoran? I think I have some crackers or something in my backpack here . . . "

Paige walked back over to her large backpack and knelt down to dig through the pockets. Nidoran watched her doing so, intrigued at what the Charmander had said and remembering the trainer's selfless act. Paige tossed a few empty pokeballs to the side as she dug deeper into the pocket, knowing she had put a snack here intentionally. Finally, after removing a few postcards she was saving for the road, she held up a pack of crackers. "Here we are Nidoran! You can have the whole pack if you want."

Paige turned her head and looked around after not hearing the pokemon's reaction. The pokemon was nowhere to be found and the clearing was vacant. The sudden breeze that rolled over the hills caused the thick grass to rustle softly. Paige turned her head to the noise, pausing to listen but soon letting out a gentle sigh. The pokemon most likely left and Paige could not blame her after Isaac had assaulted her in such a way. Still, Paige felt a sense of sadness she could not say goodbye. Removing a few crackers from the wrapper and putting them on the ground, she flung her arms into straps of the bag and stood back up to continue on the road. It wasn't halfway to the road before she stopped and turned back, expecting to see the Nidoran there. Instead, her collection of empty pokeballs and postcards littered the area. Hurrying back over she scooped up the papers and pokeballs, stuffing them into her pockets for now. Her mind must have been elsewhere to almost forget the scattered supplies.

* * *

Paige now stood in the middle of the road, gazing up at the tree line before looking down at the posted sign.

**VIRIDIAN FOREST **

Paige remembered her father telling her stories about how people would get lost in this natural maze for days. Things would be so much better with someone that knew their way around the forest but it was too late for that. The trees would provide a lot of shade and cover for the pokemon that lived here but might help Paige avoid other trainers. With only two pokemon at her side and little experience in battles, she would have to keep her wits about her. Forcing down a hard swallow she marched forward past the trees and into the darkness of the forest.


	6. Chapter 5: The Bug-Catching Boys

(_Shout out to **DeathGoblin** for his feedback and help in structuring my paragraphs better. Hope this chapter is enjoyed as well as the others_.)

"How many times have we seen this tree Charmer? You'd figure they would have some sort of defined pathway." Paige looked down at her newly nicknamed partner. The Charmander smiled up at her with his small fangs visible in his parted smile. Paige let out a soft chuckle, trying to keep her chin up. Having Charmer wander around with her and light the way made it a little bit easier to deal with the shadows but Viridian Forest still casted an eerie dimness under the tall trees.

The forest was thick with trees and wild grass. The afternoon sun was bright in the sky but in some areas you couldn't tell if it was day or night. Paige had been walking around for half an hour but it felt like she was getting nowhere. The scent and sights at the entrance was inviting as the summer sun had the flora in bloom. Accompanied by the sounds of birds flying overhead and the drone of the locusts, the forest was alive with life. It all seemed like it was going well to begin with but the farther she had traveled in, the more lost she became. It was at this time she remembered seeing maps for sale in the Pokemart and yet she neglected it, assuming Isaac would know where he was going. Now that she was without guide, it was up to her to see her own way through. So far she had not seen any trainers so she was able to change clothing in peace but she was well aware that they were out there. It was only a matter of keeping an eye out for them.

Turning around to backtrack for the third time, she could see that she was no longer alone. Running out from the thick grass and trees was a short, chubby rodent covered in yellow fur. The pokemon's ears twitched softly before recovering a berry from its mouth into its paws and begin to nibble at its luxury.

_Pikaaa . . . _

With those rosy red circles on its cheeks and adorable brown eyes, Paige immediately knew what pokemon this was. A Pikachu was uncommon to see and many of her girlfriends adored the cute electric rodent. This must be fate as she had always wanted a Pikachu of her very own. She couldn't believe how the day was already turning around. Her hand quickly reached into her skirt pocket to retrieve one of the newly bought pokeballs to capture the pokemon. The Pikachu's ears perked up and its face turned to look at Paige with a curious tilt of its head. Paige grinned, clasping a pokeball in her grip and pulling it up and out. The other pokeballs on top scattered around her as she had taken from the bottom and ejected several other balls. Her grip slipped as Paige fumbled with the capsule from one had to another until she dropped it at her feet. The Pikachu popped the berry back into its mouth and finished running across the pathway back into the thicket.

Paige stood in silence for a few moments before dropping down onto her rear with a defeated growl. Why didn't she just hook the empty balls on her belt with the others? She was in such a hurry she never thought ahead if a pokemon would appear like that. Charmer walked over to one of her pokeballs, past several stray ones, sniffed at it with a happy cheer and clasped it up in his claws. Walking up over the Paige he lifted the ball up to her face with a happy smile.

"Thanks Charmer. I know just where to put this one." Attaching the pokeball to her strapped waist belt, she began to recover the several empty balls that had rolled across the forest floor. Charmer assisted, happily kicking one forward as he had clasped another in between its claws once more. Paige knelt down near the edge of the beaten pathway and pushed her fingers through the grass as she saw one roll into the brush. Walking on her hands and knees she pushed past the tall grass and grabbed a hold of the pokeball, standing back up on her knees while looking down at it.

"What ya doin Patrick?"

"Shh!"

Paige turned around towards the voices quickly to find two young boys standing behind her. The boy's heads were both tilted at an angle and their faces had a curious look. It took Paige a few moments to realize just what these youngsters were trying to look at. Jumping up from her knees and pushing down her skirt she turned to face them.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Paige gave a stern look as one of the boys grew embarrassed and looked away while the younger one looked up in confusion. Charmer had returned to Paige's side once more while carrying the last pokeball in its mouth.

"S-sorry. We were just walking by looking for pokemon and saw something rustling around in the grass. We didn't know it was a girl. Honest", the older boy stammered. Both of the kids had short jeans with baggy stained t shirts covered in dirt and grass. Each one carried a backpack with camping gear hanging off. The taller and older one had secured a baseball cap on his head and had it tilted to the side. Paige looked down at them with an unnerved look. The older one was most likely a preteen while the younger was about ten.

"You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that. You have no idea what kind of week I have been having". Paige felt Charmer pull on her leggings once more, tilting its head back to hold the pokeball up. Reaching down to pick up the ball her attention was soon returned to the two kids again. "Wait a second . . . you said you both are looking for pokemon right? So maybe you know this forest then?"

"We live in Pewter City and come here on the weekends to look for bug pokemon. Me and my brother Alex are bugcatchers!" The two boys seem to have this planned out. Both turned so they could lean their backs on one another and strike poses. The older one tilted his hat up with a winking grin and the younger one threw up a peace sign with a gap in his grin. Paige stared at the two with a blank expression, wondering how many times the two of them had done this to strangers. Are all boys either jerks or goofballs? Paige cleared her throat before choosing words carefully in case she triggered another one of these actions.

"Then you know how to get out of here and back home right? Can you show me the way? I'm actually a bit turned around here." The two boys looked at each other, nodding with a grin before the older one looked back at Paige.

"Yea! We know the way and we can help! No prob lady!" Paige smiled in relief as Patrick waved for Paige and his little brother Alex to follow him back down the beaten path. Paige and Charmer followed the youngsters happily, looking forward to the aid and getting out of the forest sooner than later.

* * *

Walking along the beaten path with the two brothers, Paige was able to talk with them a bit and share each other's stories after introductions. The brothers apparently used to live in Saffron City when they were much younger but moved with their father and mother out to Pewter City to be closer to their father's work in studying the mass evolutionary patterns of Beedrills and Butterfrees. It would seem they took more after their father than their mother in this respect. Their mother didn't sound like she was very fond of bugs in general and didn't like the fact the boys had found their father's passion. Instead she would suggest that they should look into pokemon like Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader uses. Paige recalled hearing about Brock from Felix, a friend who left on his pokemon journey about a year back. Usually he would call and tell Paige all about his battles and travels and she would put up with it just to humor him. It had been quite a while since his last call though.

The brothers once challenged Brock but found his pokemon were just too much for their bug and grass type. Gym leaders sounded like they were on a whole different level to Paige and the thought of facing one in the next city she came to gave her stomach a few flips.

"You mean you never have a real battle before", Alex questioned as the topic came up. Paige shook her head.

"I had a practice one when I was younger but I froze up after the pokemon got injured. Since then it has been kind of a mental block. When I see pokemon get hurt I think back to that day and begin to lose my momentum. I don't like pokemon fighting because we command and control them to." Patrick and Alex, walking on opposite sides of Paige looked at each other with questioning eyes before Patrick looked back up to Paige.

"We can't control pokemon Paige. No one can. Pokemon choose to follow trainers and choose to grow with them. When someone tries to catch a wild pokemon, that pokemon always has the option of running away. To fight and capture them is a test to see if you can really handle them. It's the same in trainer battles. Your pokemon choose to battle other pokemon, having faith in your abilities. You can't let them down just because you are afraid. Our father told Alex and me to always remember that." Paige slowed down to a stop as the boys did the same. Those words ran contradictory to Isaac's philosophy but made much more sense to her.

"But it isn't all about battles right? What about friendships with pokemon?" The brothers looked back at each other with more confusion as if Paige was asking about common knowledge everyone should know.

"Daddy says pokemon are friends. He said some pokemon only get stronger and evolve through friendships. Without friendship, we ain't as strong." Even Alex was making more sense now. These ideas resonated more with Paige's beliefs but was that the proper way to train strong pokemon? Maybe there are several ways to go about it. These two brothers were giving Paige a lot to think about though as they continued to wander back along the overgrown path.

* * *

"Let's take a quick break here", Patrick said, dropping his bag off his back. His little brother Alex nodded and dropped his own pack with Paige following suit. "We can replenish some stamina here anyway." The trio had stopped near a wild grove of fruit trees. Paige felt like they should cover more ground before resting but assumed they had been walking much longer than she had been. She had no right to suggest getting farther before a break. Patrick had taken a pokeball out and approached one of the trees while Alex stood underneath. Paige watched with Charmer at her side, curious what the two brothers were up to. "Toady! Let's get a snack!" Patrick tossed the ball up as a pokemon emerged with a flash of white light. The small pokemon reminded Paige of a peach shaded mushroom and recognized it as a Shroomish. Its body had several green spots on it along with a green underside and two little, round feet. The sour expression on its face looked around at the area before Patrick pointed up at a tree. "Toady. Give the tree a headbutt."

The pokemon walked up to the base of the trunk and glanced up before lowering its head and jumping forward. Shroomish hit the tree head on, the branches rustling as Alex reached up to catch several ripe apples from the branches. Paige's eyes widened as the two brothers celebrated their harvest. It was clear they had done this before. Patrick smiled over at Paige and walked over to her with an apple in hand. "This is our little honey hole we come to on occasion. Usually we have to wait until the bigger kids are gone. Wanna give it a try?" Paige looked a bit confused, glancing at Charmer and wondering if he was even capable of doing such an act.

"I don't think Charmer knows how to headbutt trees", Paige stated. Charmer shook its head in agreeing with Paige. Patrick snickered as he turned his head to call over to his brother.

"Hey bro! Bring me the TM container." Alex swallowed a mouthful of apple and nodded, leaving Shroomish by the bags as it munched away at its share of the harvest. Alex dug in the back of their camping bags and hurried over to his brother with a small white square box. The edges were smooth and the construction of it looked to be some sort of white plastic and metal frame. Paige recognized this box as a TM, a technical machine that was used in pokemon training. The box was loaded with a set of instructions via a disc that was capable of teaching pokemon new moves it could not learn naturally. This was just one way new moves were learned though. Alex knelt down in front of Charmer and pulled the box apart at the center. The sides looked like they pieced together like a puzzle and were connected inside with latches. The two sections were held up to Charmer's head while a ripple of arcing white energy sparking over its skin from each piece. Charmer blinked a few moments and perked up, almost as if it realized something. "There! Try now." Patrick pointed over to a particular large tree on the opposite side of the grove. Paige looked down at Charmer, seeing her partner was confident in himself with a nod and clenching its claws together with arm pumps.

Paige and Charmer walked up to the old tree, gazing upwards into the thick branches. This apple tree was ancient compared to the other ones but still yielded a ton of ripe apples for the picking. Paige glanced back at the boys as they waved her forward in encouragement.

"Alright Charmer. Let's give this a try. Use Headbutt." Charmer bolted forward with its head lowered and rammed into the base of the tree. The tree branches barely shook but Paige could hear the faint sound of something falling from the branches. Looking up she could see several large yellow body falling downwards. A few apples had dropped but Paige was much more concerned with the dozens of yellow figures. The masses dropped on top of her and Charmer in an avalanche. Swinging her arms over her head as Charmer ran under its owner, they waited until the objects had stopped falling. She gazed down at the shells a few moments before realizing what they were. The Kakunas rested all around her, immediately garnering a response of terror that she was going to be attacked by the hive. The boys could be heard laughing loudly behind her though and as she calmed down she realized that these were only shells left over now and none were active.

"Did you see her face? She thought they were giant bananas or something!" Patrick laughed with his little brother, his Shroomish joining in with light chuckles itself.

"Newb trainers are the best! They have no idea", Alex blurted out. Paige looked back at them with a hurt look. She should have expected these kids were just like her brother and were pulling her along for just a joke. Charmer looked equally upset at the trick, his eyes lowering to the ground. Paige began to stomp her way over to them with her fists clenched. If these kids wanted to act like her little brother, she would treat them like her little brother.

"You little brats! Where do you get off doing that to people that are just looking for help?" Patrick shrugged in dismissal of her scolding.

"You have no idea how long it took to collect all those shells. We have been waiting for weeks for someone to be stupid enough to fall for this prank. Looks like you owe me some poke dollars Alex." Alex continued to laugh, nodding in acknowledgement to his brother.

"Well worth it bro", Alex managed to force out before returning to his laughing. Paige gritted her teeth, feeling the pain of embarrassment growing in her chest. Even though she was several years older, these kids got the drop on her.

As the boys enjoyed a good laugh, three male figures encroached into the clearing after hearing the commotion. They would watch from a distance for a few moments at the young boys laughing at the girl while the girl continued to loudly scold them to the best of her abilities. The leader of the group smirked and started to walk forward once more while cracking his knuckles in preparation.

"I'm amazed your little brats never learn", the taller of the three figures said out loud. Patrick and Alex halted their laughter and turned their attention to the group. Paige stopped as well, noting how quickly their faces had been drained in color at the approach of the three. "I thought we made it pretty clear last time we spoke this is our grove. If you can't pay the fee, you can't play here." The teen wore a red collared vest over a black t shirt with leather bracers tied up on his arms. The bracers had several claw marks embedded into them, several puncture marks visible. The black spiky hairstyle was brought up in the middle and pointed back in a crest, almost like in a mohawk styled pull up. The two others had similar looks, mimicking the leader of their little group the best they could manage.

"We were just about to leave Bret. Honest." Patrick attempted to back away from the scene but the older teen marched up past Paige and ignored Alex to confront the child.

"You shouldn't be here in the first place kid. How much do you have on you?" Patrick lowered his head and rummaged into his pockets while Bret's partners accompanied him but kept to the exterior of the group. Paige glanced back at the stout one of the three as he gave her a sneer. By then Patrick had removed a handful of poke dollars and handing them off to the leader. Paige opened her mouth to say something but stifled herself as the teen turned to her. "Well now . . ." Bret slicked a hand back over his hair before walking up to Paige and getting a better look at her. Paige took a few steps backwards, noting the several piercings in his left eyebrow looking like a rigid claw. Bret primped himself up a bit and gave Paige a smile. "I'm sorry we didn't get here earlier. If I knew there was such a peach I would have shown up earlier. What's your name girl?" Paige exhaled with a drained and tired look, already mired in his attempt at charm.

"It's Paige but don't mind me. I was just about to leave. Come on Charmer", Paige said as she waved for Charmer to follow. Bret watched as Paige and her pokemon walked past him and over to recover her backpack.

"There's no need to rush. If these kids are bothering you I can chase them off and we can hang for a bit." Bret followed Paige as she did her best to ignore his advances and slip her arms into the straps. Shroomish guarded his horde of apples vigorously from the two, jumping up on the stack with aggressive grunting out.

_Shroomish. Shroom Shroom._

Bret glared down at the Shroomish and the pile of apples. He wasn't deterred by the pokemon and reached down to take one from the pokemon. This was a mistake. Without a warning or command, Shroomish lowered its body and lunged forward to make connection with Bret's stomach in a moderate strength headbutt. Bret made an audible grunt and fell backwards onto his butt while attention from the other trainers now was on him. Bret tensed his fists and stood back up. Making a step forward he swung his foot up to the Shroomish in a swift kick. The Shroomish was stubborn and stood firm but the kick propelled it into the air and into a tree's trunk. Landing on its head with feet kicking wildly, the pokemon cried out in pain. Bret's comrades smirked, even chuckled as their leader stole an apple from the Shroomish pile and held it up to Paige.

"There are benefits to hanging with the strong crowd." Bret winked and smiled as Paige's eyes had fallen on the Shroomish and Patrick who had ran over to his pokemon after the attack. Patrick turned his pokemon over and hugged it tightly to his chest with his eyes tightly shut and tears welding up. This reminded Paige how her first training battle ended. Her heart was racing at this point and her mind jumped to one reaction. Turning back to Bret she snatched the apple from his grip and in a fluid movement she threw the piece of fruit hard into the teen's face. The apple smacked him in the forehead, forcing him to take a few steps back and look back to Paige. "Bitch!"

"You're no better than a thug. I am not going to stand by and let you abuse pokemon like that!" Paige felt her face going red while Patrick and Alex looked up in disbelief. Bret gave her a glare before the anger subsided in him and cockiness took over. Snatching a pokeball from his belt holster he tossed it up into the air and caught it over and over again.

"Seems you are in need of a lesson just like these kids here. Girl or not, you just made a big mistake." Bret leaped backward to get distance between him and Paige. With the pokeball in his grip he held it out in front of her in preparation of a battle. Charmer walked up in front of Paige, its clawed clenched into fists with the flame at the tip of its tail increasing in size. Breathing out a heated exhale, Charmer's happy and jolly demeanor grew to a serious one. Paige felt a bead of sweat rolling down the back of her neck as her pulse continued to race. Things were escalating fast after she fired her mouth off. If it was people fighting she was more likely to just run or try to talk them down but the abuse of pokemon is something everyone saw in the nightly news, especially with groups like Team Rocket. If she needed to fight to get stronger, she was going to do so against people like this. Her chest felt like it was on fire as the anticipation of her first real battle started. Not aware of the skill level of her opponent, she would try to remember and rely on what she learned at the Trainer House on type advantages.

Bret chucked his pokeball forward, the ball splitting open in midair as white light took flight into the sky. Paige clenched her teeth together behind her lips and flipped the brim of her hat up to get a full view of the area. While she was soft hearted, she was no coward. There was no backing down now.


	7. Chapter 6: Fight in the Forest

Charmer stood at attention while Bret's pokemon took form. The opponent's pinkish red wings flapped to keep itself stationary right above the ground. The rough, brown plumage on its head sported a short, hooked beak that opened to cry out a battle cry.

_Spearrrooowwwww!_

Paige had seen Spearows before and knew many were infamous for their terrible attitudes. It was known that some of the wild ones would attack other pokemon and humans without provocation. As a flying type, Charmer didn't have an advantage and neither did the Spearow. Her inexperience was the only thing that she would have to deal with in this battle. Still, Paige disliked the way Bret had curved his lips up in a sneer but she would not let that discourage her. Patrick and Alex had taken seats behind Paige while Bret's buddies stood on the sidelines to watch the conflict. Both of them seemed to be pretty nonchalant about the battle, confident in their leader's abilities.

"Let's go Spearow. A good thrashing is in order with these two! Fury Attack!" Bret yelled out the command as the Spearow darted forward with its wings spread out. The pokemon halted the dive in front of Charmer then began to repeatedly thrust his beak and talons downwards. Charmer was hit by a barrage of pecks and scratches, wincing and crying out with each hit. The speed that Spearow moved caught Paige off guard and she had no time to issue a retort, struggling to speak. Her heart raced while her mouth grew steadily dry. Patrick yelled out to Paige.

"Paige! Don't just stand there! Make a move!"

"Cha . . Charmer . . . ahh." Paige felt that creeping numbness coating her body with skin rising in goose bumps. Her mind was in a hazy state as she struggled to come up with words to issue a counterattack. The attack from the Spearow hit a climax with a final swing downwards with his beak. The attack forced young Charmer to stumble backwards away from the hovering opponent. Several surface skin scratches were left over Charmer's face. Paige struggled to focus on the battle and not on the urge to run. Even the most mundane attack by an opponent had crippled her attention.

"Good job Spearow! Now give that little lizard a Leer!" Spearow's eyes narrowed onto Charmer as they gave off a menacing red light that seemed to sap Charmer of strength to fight as his body slumped down a bit. Patrick watched the move as he began to relive his own battle with Bret and noticed his tactics had not changed.

"Paige! He is setting up for another fury attack! You need to get your pokemon out of the way now!"

"Shut up kid. It's too late to help this one", Bret stated as he folded his arms over his chest with a confident smile. He could sense that the girl was a rookie, if even that, with handling pokemon in battles. Bret had participated in plenty of battles with the local bug catchers and fellow bird keepers. Not one to lose, he would always pick on those he knew were less experienced than him either through intimidation or physical violence. This girl was not an exception to the rule. "Fury Attack again!"

The Spearow's pink feet swung out above Charmer as he scratched furiously with his talons. Charmer attempted to get out of the way from the constant attacks by running around the designated battle area but was clawed several times by the Spearow's talons. Paige continued to fight her inner demons that tormented her with doubt and paralyzed her resolve. Watching Charmer flee from the Spearow's attacks initiated an ache in her chest as she wanted to stop this battle or at least fight back. Her throat felt like there were hands clenched around it and tightened with each moment. She managed to let out an audible squeak but the words would not come. Her eyes closed tightly with a sudden rush of disappointment overcoming her. She could feel all eyes dropping on her, judging her inadequacies as a Trainer.

Even through this self-imposing despair, Paige heard voices from the past speaking out in encouragement. The words came to her like a fire being lit in the darkness.

"_I am right about you Paige. It just will take you some time to realize your potential."_

"_Pokemon crave a strong trainer and it is a disservice to that pokemon if you can't meet that expectation."_

"_Your pokemon choose to battle other pokemon, having faith in your abilities. You can't let them down just because you are afraid__."_

An inner light grew and began to melt away her numbed state. She had to be confident in herself and give it her all with no regrets. Paige still disliked the idea of pokemon fighting but she would not let her new friend stand alone. Her eyes opened quickly with a sharp and stern look, dismissing the tears that had formed at the corners. Her dominant hand clenched into a fist as she punched it forward with a shout out.

"Charmer! Jump up and use Headbutt!" Charmer, who had been running all this time from Spearow's attacks, turned quickly around to face his opponent. Using the bottom of his tail, Charmer kicked off the ground and bashed his forehead into Spearow's underside. Spearow tumbled backwards in the air and climbed in altitude to recover from the attack. Bret lowered his eyebrows and frowned a bit, not expecting her pokemon to turn about and attack that quickly. It didn't matter in the long run though as her Charmander had already sustained plenty of damage.

"What are you doing Spearow? Don't back away! Dive down and commence another Fury Attack!" Bret yelled out his command in an aggravated tone while the Spearow cawed out and began descending back down. Paige could see that Charmer wasn't in any shape of running away so it was decided a good defense here would be a fiery offense.

"Charmer! Don't let Spearow get close and use Ember", Paige shouted out. Charmer stood strong even after the assault and followed the order. Opening its mouth, Charmer spat out bolts of fire from its mouth up at the diving bird. The spray of gold fire was spread out too far for the Spearow to effectively dodge. The attempt at aerial acrobatics through the bolts failed. Being hit by the bolts of fire, the Spearow was forced to pull up and over Charmer with a painful caw out. Bret had an angry and confused look crossing over his face. Was she just toying with him earlier? Where did all that confidence come from all of a sudden? Paige felt excitement growing in her as the tide of battle seemed to be turning her way. "Keep the heat up Charmer and fire another Ember!"

"I don't think so. Aerial Ace", Bret yelled out with a stomp of his foot forward. The Spearow flipped around in the air to dive back down at Charmer as he had begun to fire another wave of Ember. Engulfed in streaks of white light, Spearow seemed to disappear at the forefront of the Ember attack but reappear and slamming Charmer with his beak. Charmer was sent flying backwards from the impact of the attack. Flipping over twice before hitting the ground, Charmer put its claws down to drag along the soil in attempt to stop the slide. Paige felt her confidence take a heavy hit as Charmer struggled to stand after the attack. She couldn't stand seeing Charmer in this state.

"Charmer! I'm sorry!" Paige took his pokeball from her belt and sent a red beam of energy to connect with Charmer. Charmer was still attempting to stand up until the end. When his body was drawn back into the capsule, Paige stared down at the ball in her hand in disappointment of herself. Bret brushed his hand back over his mohawk with a chuckle.

"Now it's time to hand over your money too babe." Paige shook her head and reattached Charmer to her belt. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. Her fingertips slipped over her first partner's pokeball in prep.

"You're not the only skilled with flight. Pidget! You're up!" Paige launched the ball underhanded into the sky. Splitting in the air, the Pidgey shot up into the sky and flapped its wings in a steady pace to keep at the same level as the Spearow. Pidget looked at the injured Spearow with a soft coo while the Spearow forced himself to keep eye contact with its new opponent. Bret was still flying high, confident this rookie trainer was no match for his trained pokemon. Before Bret could utter a snappy retort, Paige jumped in. "Quick Attack! Go!"

Pidget stretched out her wings parallel to her body and bolted forward, leaving behind a trail of white light behind in flight. The Spearow had little time to react as Pidget's wing clipped her opponent and sent him spiraling down to land on the ground. Bret's mouth was left ajar as he saw Spearow land with a stumble. It was unexpected that Paige would recover this quickly with this much vigor to her. Even Patrick and Alex looked on at Paige with a slow growing sense of respect. Paige felt her worries and fears being pushed aside but this was not done by herself. Those encouraging words given to her still rang true in her head while her pokemon's faith in her as a trainer backed up her resolve to fight for those who could not stand up by themselves. As long as she could maintain this mindset, maybe she could get through this.

Spearow flapped his wings rapidly to take up to the air once more while Pidget circled over above the treetops to watch her opponent. Bret clenched his fingernails tight into his palms as he yelled out his command.

"Spearow! Another Aerial Ace!" Spearow fired up into the sky engulfed in white light right at Pidget. The Spearow disappeared right before he reached Pidget and sliced by her through the air with talons raking across her body. Pidget took a heavy blow by the attack and went into a spiral dive downwards with wings tightened to her side. From the mix of the summer heat and the intensity of her battle, Paige felt a line of perspiration slide down her cheek. This wasn't good. Pidget was her last pokemon.

"Don't give up Pidget", Paige yelled out in encouragement. "Use your wings to create a whirlwind under you!" Pidget heard Paige's command and complied, extending her wings out and slamming them together rapidly to halt her descent. The dust devil she created kicked up the soil around the area with debris flying in the mini twister. Pidget looked up to see the Spearow diving down after her. Paige saw her chance as the torrent of wind had not fully subsided. "Now Pidget! Dodge to the side!" Pidget tilted her wings and body to the side to catch the top of the mini twister and ride the wave while the Spearow had dived into the center, narrowly missing the tiny bird. Spearow flapped his wings in a futile attempt to halt his dive but was caught in the wind at the base of the twister. The injuries from early had taken a toll on his wings and he could not prevent being spun around by the gust until the wind subsided and threw Spearow to the side and into the forest floor. Pidget kept its altitude and watched as Spearow didn't recover from the fall and instead laid there. Bret grunted with a hurt look as he could see that Spearow was spent. Retrieving the pokeball, Spearow was recovered and placed back at Bret's side as his head was lowered.

Paige stood there, almost in a daze at what had just happened. She had successful defeated Bret's pokemon in combat. Ecstatic, Paige could feel her body shiver in excitement before she began to jump from one foot to another in an excited dance with arms up and a bright smile. "Yes yes yes yes! We did it Charmer! We did it Pidget!" Pidget happily cooed out at Paige, enjoying seeing her owner in such a state. This felt like it was a defining turn for Paige. Her first battle and she had succeeded. Her celebration was cut short however as Bret would only smirk and draw a second ball.

"Oh it's not over yet hun. Did you think I only had one partner at my side?" Paige had stopped and looked back over to Bret while his grip tensed around the new ball. The black shading around the green circles etched on it was something Paige had never seen before. The red eye of the pokeball met with his fingertip as the container opened from the bottom to reveal an eruption of black light lined with purple energy. Patrick and Alex recognized this immediately as the primary torturer that Bret used.

"Paige watch out! That's Bret's Murkrow! It's too strong!" Alex yelled out as Paige watched the black feathered pokemon fly out of the dark cloud and up above the area. With its crooked yellow beak and red eyes, this pokemon's shadow loomed over Pidget with ominous intent. Pidget gazed up at the new foe not shaken but more curious about what it was capable of. The Murkrow kept flight in the air with slow flaps of its wing while staring quietly down at Pidget. Bret smiled widely with teeth clenched in exposure. The dusk ball in his grip was lowered to his side while he prepared for the second and final round. Paige was worried at just how shocked Alex sounded and she knew little of Murkrows off the top of her head. Quickly she recovered her Pokedex from her skirt pocket and pointed it directly at the new opponent. The panel flipped open and with a chime as data appeared on the screen.

_*Bing* Murkrow, the darkness pokemon. Murkrows are feared and loathed by many as they are believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. This pokemon shows a strong interest in objects that sparkle and will even attempt to steal rings from women's hand. _

This information didn't help Paige in battle and only casted the pokemon in a darker light. Hearing about this dark pokemon made her think back to the Houndoom, her skin starting to break out in fearful goosebumps. Still, she had to stay confident in her abilities or she would fall back into her old ways. She wasn't going to let Bret intimidate her with this. Slipping the Pokedex back in her pocket, she returned her attention to the battle.

"Alright Pidget. Let's show these guys what you are fully capable of! Quick Attack!" Paige shouted out to Pidget as the pokemon darted forward in a charge through the air directly at the Murkrow. The Murkrow didn't try to move away, instead Bret sneered and shouted out a retort with a sharp tone.

"Wing Attack now! Block it!" The Murkrow had waited until Pidget was about to make connection and swung both his wings forward to strike Pidget. Pidget found herself halted by the offensive move used in defense and dropped down out of the sky. Paige shouted out to Pidget as her pokemon recovered from the strike and found herself perched on one of the fruit tree's branches. Breathing heavily, Pidget had telltale signs that she had sustained a lot of punishment. Paige gasped softly, seeing that Bret had just been waiting for her to attack so he could counter. Her nerves and jitters were getting the better of her as she could not stay calm, instead yelling out her next command.

"Pidget! Gust attack! Blow the Murkrow away!" Pidget seemed to ignore Paige and hopped farther into the branches. "Pi-Pidget?" Paige watched with disbelief as her pokemon disobeyed. At times Pidget would not listen to Paige such as making deliveries to the wrong window, pecking at packages with food or just blatantly refusing to work with her. It was uncommon but when it did happen, it seemed to happen at the worst of times. This was one of those times. Paige felt her chest and face growing red in embarrassment, fully aware that her skills as a trainer were still lacking. Bret looked puzzled for a second but then began to laugh happily.

"Do you see what happens when you bite off more than you can chew? I knew you were a lucky amateur. Now . . . let's get your Pidget out of that tree shall we? Night Shade Murkrow!" Bret pointed to the tree that Pidget had taken cover in as Murkrow flew overhead with the outline of his body glowing in a light purple shade. From opening his beak, the Murkrow cried out and sent multiple rings of crimson energy down at the tree. The rings expanded and surrounded the tree, casting it in a pale purple light and damaging the branches to drop all the leaves and fruit from it. Paige watched in horror as the foliage decomposed before her eyes while fruit was rotted out before it hit the ground. Pidget didn't stand a chance. Bret smiled and watched as the tree grew barren of cover and was fully exposed now. Paige expected the worse but was surprised to see that Pidget was exposed but unharmed by the attack. Patrick could see the confusion on Paige's face.

"Paige. Night Shade doesn't affect pokemon that are normal type. Bret is just trying to scare you and expose you pokemon so it can't rest. Keep it together already!" Patrick hushed up quickly as Bret whistled to get the young bug catcher's attention then waved his index finger in a shaming motion for helping Paige.

"Keep those lips sealed Patty. Don't want them split again do you? Now Paige", Bret retorted calmly to her look, "if you back down now, I will let you walk away from this. You have nothing to gain from sticking up for these babies." Paige ran the back of her hand over her forehead to clear a few droplets before shaking her head, replying with an issuing her next attack.

"Pidget! Dive down to the ground and stay low." Pidget complied with a wobble in midair as it dropped down from the tree and glided along. The Murkrow was ordered to follow close behind and Paige was counting on that. "Now Pidget! About face and kick up some dirt! Sand Attack!" Pidget spun around to face her pursuer and flapped her wings rapidly to the ground. The loose topsoil from the dirt patches around the area rose up and found its target. The dirt hit Murkrow's eyes and forced them to shut. Murkrow took back up to the sky to avoid any further effect from the ground attack but Pidget was now in control of the dogfight. Paige yelled out for Pidget to strike while Murkrow could not counter as Bret ordered his pokemon to turn around and strike back with his wings despite eyesight being hindered. The two pokemon collided.

Both pokemon barreled down to the ground and hit the soil. Light dust clouds kicked up from where they crash landed. Pidget had struck first blow in midair with her quick attack and sent the Murkrow spinning around, allowing him only to achieve a glancing blow with his wing attack. The impact of their two attacks nearly coinciding sent both of them to the forest floor in front of their trainers. The Murkrow stumbled back up to his feet with a ruffle of its body and wings. Pidget however remained laying on the forest floor on her back, knocked out cold by the collision. Pidget's body had several signs of blunt trauma accompanied by stray feathers lying around her. Paige stared down at Pidget silently in disbelief, slowly kneeling down to scoop up her partner into her arms. Pidget was still breathing but it was labored and she needed to rest. Bret watched as Paige called Pidget back into her pokeball. Murkrow cried out in victory as Bret's cronies applauded their leader with hoots and claps.

"Looks like you learned a valuable lesson on sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong. I'll take my victory in cash. Now." Paige felt Patrick's and Alex's hands resting on each of her shoulders in comfort. Looking up at the two, Paige began to secure Pidget's ball back on her belt.

"You did your best Paige. Thanks for trying to help us", Patrick said with a bit of sadness in his voice. Alex nodded in agreement with a weak smile. Paige felt like the consolation prize was a joke. She wanted nothing more than to wipe Bret's arrogant smile right off of his face. Now she had to pay up with both her pride and pokedollars. Her hand rested over Charmer's ball first in thought of use but he was still injured from the first round and it would just be heartbreaking to see him hurt further. Sliding her fingertips over to Pidget's ball she made a silent apology to her and thanked her for trying so hard.

Her hand grazed over the other pokeballs on her belt, a new habit to make sure they were still secured. For a brief moment, Paige felt a ball at her belt give a jerking motion towards her touch. Her hand froze, head rising up in disbelief of what she felt. The ball gave another soft jerking motion under her fingertips. _N-no . . . it can't be. What is this?_ Looking down at the pokeball her touch rested against, the ball's movement jerked from side to side. Alex seemed to notice as well, moving his hand away from her shoulder and taking a few steps back. Patrick watched his brother do so before turning his attention to where Paige's eyes rested. Even Bret and his followers were now aware something was going on. Paige clasped the pokeball in her grip and pulled it free of its slot. The vibrations of the ball continued in her palm and only grew stronger until it would burst open.


	8. Chapter 7: Femme Fatale Returns

The capsule opened and a jolt of white energy dropped at the ground. Forming quickly, two spiny ears twitched softly while a pair of whiskers wiggled in anticipation. The light blue body of this pokemon had several darker blue spots covering it, accompanied with a row of small spines along its back. Raising her head to the sky, the pokemon let out a confident cry.

_Nidoran!_

* * *

Nidoran watched as Paige dug through her backpack in search of something. The pokemon was confused at what the human was looking for but she was perplexed at what the girl gained by shielding her from the attacking Marowak and putting herself at risk not only from the stones but also from her poison spines at attention. Nidoran was still young and didn't know too much about humans or trainers. She had communicated with other pokemon about the human race and it was a mixed reaction. Some pokemon didn't care for humans at all and preferred to be with their own kind. Some pokemon seek out humans to become companions with. There were even pokemon who were jealous of trained pokemon and the bond that the human shared with them.

The Charmander that Nidoran spoke to earlier seemed to have a very high opinion about this human and how she had been so gentle with him as well as quite amusing to watch her interaction with others. There came a point where the girl had the option of going back to her normal life and yet she was willing to take him on a journey to help him get stronger, even though he could feel she was nervous about the whole ordeal. The Charmander did admit he was still very young himself but felt like he was safe with this girl and was very happy he had her as a trainer. He was certain they could grow strong together. Strength was something Nidoran aspired to. Her father had been trained by a human in his early years and was fully capable of protecting her mother and siblings from other pokemon and even some trainers. If she traveled with this trainer . . . could she become strong just like her father too?

Nidoran noticed the human had tossed a few pokeballs to the side while she searched in the bag. Nidoran had seen these devices in action and she had come to a decision. Walking over to one of them slowly she began to poke and prod at it with her nose before attempting to position her paws on top of the sphere. She had the idea that if she would stand on the ball and wait, maybe this human would understand she wanted to join her. Unfortunately, the ball slid slightly under her weight and made it difficult to remain in position. The wobbling caused Nidoran to loose balance and just as she fell, the ball had turned on its side to point the trigger button right underneath Nidoran.

It suddenly got dark. The initial panic wore off quickly as she felt confined and yet as the same time she was comfortable. She felt her body had been tucked forward in a fetal position. Her frame felt a genuine weightlessness to it. Even in this state, she had control of her own actions and shifted from side to side a few times. Suddenly a warm echo carried out through that dark.

"_Here we are Nidoran! You can have the whole pack if you want"_

It was the human from before. Nidoran halted her movements and listened. She could hear the girl's voice and feel her footsteps near. The genuine feeling of ease and comfort around her grew stronger, up to the point that Nidoran grew to accept it and relaxed in the hold it was in. Nidoran heard the footsteps run by her but then a sudden chime and clicking noise reverberated. The confinement was gone and now a view of her surrounding slowly was exposed. Nidoran looked up as she could see clouds above her and blades of grass around her. She was looking outside a transparent sphere to the area around her. Nidoran began to piece things together just as soon as Paige walked up and looked down to the ball then reached for it. Nidoran called out happily but it appeared that Paige could not hear her and just stuffed the pokeball back into her pocket.

* * *

Paige recovered back to her feet behind the Nidoran while looking at Bret. The two remaining pokemon stared each other down with an increasing intensity. Patrick had returned back to his brother's side, seeing that the battle was not over but was equally confused as his sibling. If Paige had another pokemon, why was she acting like this fight was over? Bret brushed it off, figuring it was some weak tactic she was trying to pull off. Directing Murkrow forward, Bret shouted out to his pokemon.

"No prob Murkrow! Make quick work of this rat with a Wing Attack!" The Murkrow ran forward with his wings stretched out, primed to strike. Nidoran stood her ground, body hunched forward and primed to make a move. Paige recalled watching a male Nidoran in battle once. _The move set shouldn't be too far off from the female of the species. Nidoran still looks injured from Isaac but Bret's Murkrow isn't doing so hot either. I need to wrap this up quick before that bird takes flight again. Gotta watch out for the night shade attack too._

"Nidoran! Dodge and use Poison Sting!"

The Murkrow had closed the distance between him and the Nidoran. Swinging his wing across to strike, Nidoran leaped up over the swift motion and spun back around behind her opponent. Her tiny horn primed with poison, she kicked off her back feet and attempted to make contact with the bird. Murkrow felt the tiny jab and squealed, running forward from the poisonous point. Bret winced, almost as if he felt the sting as well.

"Poison isn't going to stop us now! Murkrow! Mud-Slap!"

Murkrow stopped and turned his head to look back at Nidoran. With yellow talons, Murkrow began to kick up clumps of dirt at the opponent. The mix of dirt and grass flew through the air and struck Nidoran in her face. The dirt hindered her ability to see, forcing her to halt her action and begin to scrape away at the soil. As she finished up enough to regain her sight, the Murkrow had taken this opportunity to position himself boldly in front of her with outstretched wings and beak wide open. Paige and Nidoran could see the upcoming attack would be Night Shade as the outline of the bird's body began to glow. Nidoran was prepared for an attack and used one of her father's tricks. Her eyes widened as she made a cute face at her foe, quickly hopping up to snuggle with the Murkrow in an apologetic way. The Murkrow froze as a blushing hue grew under the black feathers on his face, the Charm attack being quite successful. Bret shouted out to his Murkrow aggressively but Paige would be the one to take advantage here.

"Now that his guard is down, use Double Kick", Paige called out. The Murkrow broke away from Nidoran's charm right in time to see the pokemon flip backwards and kick her hind legs out. The kicks landed directly into the Murkrow's beak, slamming it shut and sending the bird falling backward into the ground. Nidoran looked at the Murkrow as the bird struggled to stand but failed at the act. The Murkrow let out an angry caw before passing out and leaving Bret stunned at the loss. Bret's followers had the same shocked expression to their faces while they watched him recall the Murkrow back into the dusk ball.

Paige blinked, looking in disbelief. The intensity of her first battle made her legs weak, the adrenaline wearing off and forcing her to drop down once more to the forest floor. Nidoran turned back around to Paige and hopped up into her lap. Paige caught Nidoran, still in disbelief that the battle had been won as well as Nidoran had somehow found its way into one of her pokeballs. A sudden spark of realization hit Paige. Charmer helped her collect her pokeballs after she had dropped them earlier in the forest. At first it appeared Charmer just selected a random ball to begin with but she recalled how he sniffed out a particular one and seemed very happy in recovering it for Paige. Did Charmer know all along?

"That was awesome Paige! You did it!" Paige looked up at Patrick and Alex who had ran over to her. Patrick held Shroomish in his arms, the pokemon grunting cheerfully out as if it was thanking Paige. Alex grinned widely while Patrick turned around and shouted out to Bret, "Looks like we won an apology as well as some cash money!"

Bret had taken their time of celebration to withdraw a pair of leather gloves with studded pads along the knuckles. His buddies looked on as they saw Bret had lowered his head and now intended to deal with things in a much more violent way. Walking forward to Paige and the boys, his hand in one of the gloves formed into a fist while he maintained his cold expression. Patrick swallowed hard and began to back away again while Alex ran behind Paige and hunched down. Paige watched as Bret approached. Nidoran gave an audible growl out, seeing the trainer's stance had grown quite aggressive.

"You won nothing kid. This girl is a fluke. That match didn't count for anything. If you know what is good for you, you will hand over your money and backpacks and get the hell out of here." Paige glared up at Bret while he looked down at her, seeming to have quite the ire for the new trainer. Pulling Nidoran closer to her chest, she was ready to roll to the side and act if forced to. She was not going to be a pushover here.

"Are 'trainers' really resorting to physical violence after they have lost these days? You're no better off than the Rockets." The voice startled everyone, each set of eyes turning to see another teen walking out from behind a tree. Paige felt her heart jump up a bit, seeing Isaac walking forward to Bret. How long had he been watching all of this?

"I can handle this Isaac", Paige muttered while standing up, the uncertainty in her voice as clear as day. Isaac didn't even look to Paige, only smirking at her words while closing the gap between him and Bret.

"Now then . . I want you to leave this forest and these kids alone. The girl has some form of dumb luck it seems or you just suck as a trainer so don't get your feathers in a bunch. If you want some money, then feel free to search my pockets." Bret felt his face burn as Isaac patted his own pocket. Who was this guy and how dare he call him out right in front of everyone like this. Bret quickly stepped forward and swung his arm, raising his fist up and sending a punch directly into Isaac's face. Paige gave an audible sound of warning to Isaac but it seemed to be of little help to him. Instead, Isaac rose his hand up and let the punch be deflected by his forearm right before he would grip Bret by the extended wrist and send the arm twisting backward with a forceful shove. The way Bret threw the punch was accurate but his footing was off and Isaac took full advantage of this. Swinging his boot heel behind the bird keeper's leg, Isaac followed Bret to the forest floor and pinned his arm twisted back behind him. Bret felt Isaac's knee sink forcefully into his stomach with a hard thud and knocking the wind clear out of him.

Isaac released the trainer and stood back up, watching as Bret struggled to stand and breathe right before his two cronies hurried over to assist him up to his feet. Bret glared at both Isaac and Paige with soft gasps, resting his arms on the shoulders of his followers.

"Enjoy it . . while you can . . . I'll be . . seeing you girly . . . "

With a stare, Isaac watched the two drag their comrade away without much of a word in his defeat. After such a display, neither wanted anything to do with the new stranger and would leave him to deal with the girl and hids. Isaac, Paige and the bug catchers watched the three leave the area down the beaten pathway to the south without a word.

"Isaac?" Isaac turned his head to look at Paige, her eyes gazing down and away from him. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to see just how hopeless you are without me dragging you along. You managed to get pranked by two kids, piss off a group of bird keepers and almost get beaten up. Still, not bad for your first real day as a trainer." Paige let out a soft sigh, feeling the backhanded compliment was the best she was going to get from Isaac. "I am a bit surprised you beat that guy though . . . and you even caught a pokemon, though I did do all of the work. It's not much but it is progress in the right direction Paige." Paige looked up at Isaac, feeling a bit better but her guilt of hitting him earlier still had her down.

"Excuse me?" Patrick stepped forward. "You and Paige know each other?"

"You could say that", Paige answered the question for Isaac, pulling the Nidoran closer to her chest as it had a narrowed glare at Isaac.

"So he is your boyfriend", Alex chirped out. Paige's face bubbled hot in embarrassment and turned to the boy to correct him but Isaac had beaten her to it. His knuckles were now pressed to either side of his head as he twisted them in a punishment for the boy's assumption. Alex flailed his arms around and pled for Isaac to stop while Patrick watched on with a slight amusement, used to seeing his little brother's mouth getting them in trouble.

"Why would I be dating a flat chested twit like her? Just because a guy is traveling with a girl does not mean they are dating! Got it?" Paige chimed in right behind Isaac as he waited for Alex to answer.

"What kind of standards do you think I have Alex? I can do much better." Isaac blinked, releasing his hold on Alex and looked at Paige with an irritated expression over his flustered face.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"If you can't figure that out then maybe you should polish up more on social skills than on pokemon." The two locked eyes, firing glares that collided midair. Patrick looked back and forth at the two with a soft chuckle while Alex rubbed his head with a whimper and muttering to himself.

"You two fight like you are", Alex murmured out. Paige and Isaac turned their glares over at Alex after overhearing the comment. Alex swallowed hard, quickly running up behind Patrick to take cover from the storm. Patrick let out a heavy sigh before changing the topic.

"We should get back on the road and make some progress before stopping for the night. You coming with us . . . Isaac?" Isaac looked at Paige once more as she questioned his peculiar glance.

"I suppose I better. This girl is supposed to be my burden to deal with and I can't just push her off on someone else. My bike is up ahead anyway."

* * *

Recovering their backpacks along with the harvested fruit, the four continued back onto the traveled path. Paige carried the Nidoran in her arms, thinking of a good nickname for the hardy pokemon. Nidoran would occasionally glance at Isaac with a soft growl but returned back to curling up into Paige's cradling arms. Patrick and Alex had seemed to take quick a liking to Paige. Their trickster ways were gone and now they had become generally interested in Paige and the battle that had taken place. Even with the two there, they requested to hear what was going through Paige's mind during the conflict with each attack. Isaac walked on the far side of the path and away from the main group, thinking quietly to himself. He had watched the whole battle, backtracking after cooling off just in time to see Paige make a fool of herself with the kakuna shells. At the very start, Paige didn't appear to know what she was doing. It looked as if it was going to be a one sided battle. Her behavior changed though and she began to gain momentum. She had been fighting like it was not a matter of money but something else, much greater, was on the line. Isaac was also surprised to see that the Nidoran had been caught by her, assuming it would flee after he had left. Chalking all of this up to luck would be the easiest way to dismiss it but a nagging feeling had begun to grow about the newbie trainer. Time would tell if his hypothesis was accurate or he had misjudged everything.


End file.
